July 6, 2011 in Outdoors, Region

Man killed by grizzly at Yellowstone National Park

Ben Neary and Mead Gruver Associated Press

Tags:grizzly attackYellowstone National Park

CHEYENNE, Wyo. — A grizzly bear killed a man who was hiking with his wife in Yellowstone National Park’s backcountry after the couple apparently surprised the female bear and its cubs on Wednesday, park officials said.

It was the park’s first fatal grizzly mauling since 1986, but the third in the Yellowstone region in just over a year amid ever-growing numbers of grizzlies and tourists roaming the same wild landscape of scalding-hot geysers and sweeping mountain vistas.

The Wednesday morning attack happened just two days after the peak weekend for tourism in the park all year, on a trail close to Canyon Village near the middle of Yellowstone.

Details were sketchy but park officials said the bear attacked to defend against a perceived threat. They said the wife of the 57-year-old victim called 911 on her cell phone and other hikers in the area responded to her cries for help.

Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said the couple saw the bear twice on their hike. The first time, they continued hiking. The second time, the grizzly was running at them and the man told his wife to run.

The woman told park officials she didn’t see the bear attack her husband. When the bear went for her, Nash said, she dropped to the ground. The grizzly lifted her off the ground by the day pack she was wearing then dropped her.

The woman may have had scrapes and bruises but didn’t seek medical attention, Nash said. Authorities weren’t prepared to identify the couple until the man’s family could be notified, he said.

Park officials worked Wednesday to clear the area of people. All trails and backcountry campsites in the area were closed and a warning sign was posted on the trailhead, Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash said.

“It is in the backcountry of the park, and we have access challenges and limited communication,” Nash said.

The bears remained at large.

Grizzlies in the Yellowstone region have caused growing problems for people, everything from raiding bird feeders at rural homesteads to the very worst.

In June 2010, a grizzly just released after being trapped and tranquilized for study killed an Illinois man hiking outside Yellowstone’s east gate. Last July, a grizzly killed a Michigan man and injured two others in a nighttime campground rampage near Cooke City, Mont., northeast of the park.

Yellowstone and nearby surrounding areas are home at least 600 grizzlies and some say more than 1,000. Once rare to behold, grizzlies have become an almost routine cause of curious tourists lining up at Yellowstone’s roadsides at the height of summer season.

Meanwhile, those tourists have been flooding into Yellowstone in record numbers: 3.6 million last year, up 10 percent from last year’s 3.3 million, also a record.

The spokesman for the Wyoming Travel and Tourism state agency doubted the attack would cause anybody to change their Yellowstone vacation plans.

“What has happened here hasn’t happened for a quarter century,” Chuck Coon said. “It is very sad, though, and I’m very sorry to hear of it.”

The big bears require constant vigilance for tourists and park employees alike, said Caleb Platt, a service station manager at Canyon Village who said he has had a handful of fairly close encounters with grizzlies while hiking in the park.

“When it’s close and you realize it does see you, it gets the heart racing,” he told the Associated Press by phone.

He said he hadn’t heard about the mauling near his workplace but carries bear spray — pressurized hot-pepper residue in a can — so he’s able to defend himself in case a bear gets ever too close to him on the trail.

Park officials Wednesday issued a number of recommendations for park visitors to stay safe from backcountry bears. They included staying on designated trails, hiking in groups of three or more people, keeping alert for bears, and making noise in places where a grizzly could be lurking out of sight nearby.

Bear spray is effective in stopping aggressive bears, they said.

12 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

Byrdie714 on July 06 at 3:49 p.m.
Lesson learned: Don’t mess with mama bear!
force_vector on July 06 at 5:05 p.m.
I doubt they “messed with mama bear”. Surprising a bear in the Yellowstone back country could happen to anyone out there, so save your “lesson learned” bs for a more appropriate venue.
SpokyDaBear on July 06 at 5:06 p.m.
Probably just mad at the oil spill and thought the guy was an oil Executive…
Ed Byrnes on July 06 at 5:45 p.m.
Surprising a bear can happen to anyone who travels in the back country, this is basically a very very unfortunate accident.
Given that the last fatal bear mauling was in 1986 is a testament to the diligence of back country travelers and park personnel in taking appropriate precautions. The thing is there is no such phenomenon as a risk free life.
Nonetheless it is our right to assume the risks and travel in the back country.
My prayers go to this man, his wife who had to witness the mauling, and to their loved ones.
Ed
maria on July 06 at 5:55 p.m.
I thought Sarah Palin was on tour back east today.
JBlim on July 06 at 5:56 p.m.
You can always put bear bells on your pack or practice your singing as you hike to reduce the surprise element.
crazyivan44 on July 06 at 6:16 p.m.
I thought that story last year about the guy getting dragged off in his sleeping back and killed was from Yellowstone…was that a different park, or did that guy live?
de3 on July 06 at 6:27 p.m.
The guy who was killed last year was in a campground just outside the park. Doesn’t really matter - the bears do not observe park boundaries.
force_vector on July 06 at 7:03 p.m.
My wife and I surprised a black bear with cubs once on the Hell Roaring Trail. We had been clapping our hands and yelling “hey bear!” for miles. We stopped right before the trail head on the return and boom, there she was. She was so unhappy that she charged. That is why I say it could happen to anyone. All it takes is a second, and next thing you know you’re in a situation you want nothing to do with. I feel for the wife mostly in this situation. I hope she finds peace.
crazyivan44 on July 06 at 9:16 p.m.
ah ok that makes sense…I read that part about no deaths in a long time and thought wait a minute…..
thanks de3!
Ed Byrnes on July 06 at 10:00 p.m.
JBlim and force vector, taken together your postings give tried and true methods for reducing risk, and combined with this story demonstrate how reducing is not the same as eliminating. Though life inherently has risk and paralyzing ourselves with fear would not change that.
I likewise hope the man’s wife finds some peace.
Ed
AK_3_7_77 on July 06 at 10:52 p.m.
Maria your comments on this, and other articles, are vile, inappropriate and display the depth of your ignorance for the situation. This is nothing more than a tragic instance where a couple was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This poor woman and her family deserve a little more respect.