Habituated black bear killed in Yellowstone National Park

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Yellowstone National Park staff lethally removed an adult female black bear on July 11 following a series of concerning incidents at a backcountry campsite located in the Blacktail Deer Creek drainage in the northern part of the park.

In June, the bear crushed an unoccupied tent at the campsite. 

A few weeks later, on July 11, the bear climbed the site’s food storage pole, tore down properly stored food bags and consumed the campers’ food. 

Although it is uncommon for bears in Yellowstone to obtain human food, when it does occur, bears can quickly become food-conditioned and may act aggressively around humans, putting both people and wildlife at risk.

The bear’s escalating behavior — including property damage and obtaining a significant food reward — posed a clear threat to visitor safety and warranted removal, a news release from Yellowstone National Park said.

The decision to kill the bear was based on concern for human safety, property damage to camping equipment, and the bear’s learning to defeat the park’s backcountry food storage poles to obtain human food.

 “We go to great lengths to protect bears and prevent them from gaining access to human food in all areas of the park,” said Kerry Gunther, Yellowstone bear management biologist, in the release. “But occasionally, a bear outsmarts us or overcomes our defenses. When that happens, we sometimes have to make the difficult decision to remove the bear from the population to protect people and property.”

This story was published on July 18, 2025.