Glacier National Park officials killed a food-conditioned, five-year-old female grizzly bear on Thursday, July 20, 2023.
Park staff took the action after the bear received "multiple food rewards" from unsecured sources and displayed increasingly aggressive behavior, according to a news release.
The behavior posed a threat to human safety, making it necessary to remove it from the population, according to park staff.
On Tuesday, June 27, the grizzly was reported moving through the Many Glacier Campground where she got unsecured human food from a campsite picnic table.
Because the bear received a food reward, and in accordance with the park's Bear Management Plan, park staff restricted the Many Glacier Campground to hard-sided camping only.
Staff hazed the grizzly out of the campground on two later occasions. The campground reopened to all camper types on Monday, July 10 after radio tracking showed the bear was no longer in the immediate area for several days.
On Tuesday, July 18, the grizzly bear appeared at the Swiftcurrent Lake Boat Launch where she "aggressively charged" a family picnicking on the shoreline. The family was able to secure food items, but the bear obtained beverages that were left cooling in the lake. The incident was immediately reported to park staff.
Park officials made the decision to capture and remove the bear in accordance with the park’s Bear Management Plan.
Park officials coordinated with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service as required under the Endangered Species Act, and on Thursday, the grizzly was euthanized near Lake Sherburne.
This is the first food conditioned grizzly bear to be euthanized in Glacier National Park since 2009.
This bear had been radio-collared in 2019 as part of a grizzly bear population trend study in which the park monitors up to 10 radio-collared female grizzly bears. There are an estimated 300 grizzly bears in Glacier National Park. Numerous state and federal agencies work together to manage and recover the grizzly bear population in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, which includes Glacier National Park.
Park staff says that once a bear receives a human food reward, it can become food conditioned. Food rewards can include items such as human food, trash, livestock feed, and pet food. Over time, food conditioned bears may become bold or aggressive in their attempts to obtain human food, as was the case with this bear. Once a bear has become food-conditioned, hazing and aversive conditioning are unlikely to be successful in reversing this type of behavior. Food-conditioned bears are not relocated due to human safety concerns.
Park visitors can help ensure the future of grizzly bears by taking steps to prevent bears from becoming food conditioned. Do not stop along roadways in the vicinity of bears. Secure all food and garbage. Report all bear sightings to the nearest ranger. It may be cliché, but more often than not, “a fed bear is a dead bear.”
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