4 Year Old Wyoming Grizzly 962 Killed Due To Human Interaction

There are a few 'famous' Grizzly Bears in Wyoming that get lots of attention from the public and one of them is Grizzly 399. The bear is one that has had many cubs and one of her traits is that she can be found hanging around the roadside. The problem with that is that her cubs can easily become comfortable around the roads and with human interaction.

That has backfired many times through the years and again this past week. Grizzly 962 was 399's offspring in 2017 and was just euthanized because of being highly food-conditioned. When a bear is given easy access to food, they no longer feel that they are unwelcome around humans and cause great danger. According to Cowboy State Daily, 42 Grizzly Bears have been killed this year.

This bear had a history of obtaining human food and over the last couple of years the  was able to obtain human food rewards. It's not that the bear is being specifically fed, but she was able to find human food through trash, compost, livestock feed and other sources that relate back to humans. Once the grizzly gets a taste of human food, they can become aggressive and cause damage to property in an attempt to get food.

Because of this behavior, Gran Teton National Park Officials had to follow Interagency Grizzly Bear guidelines and capture and kill the bear.

The best way for you to do your part in helping the bear population is to make sure you're taking care of attractants like making sure your trash put where bears can't get to it, storing pet & livestock food and supplies in bear proof containers and being vigilant of other easy accessible food sources.

Wyoming Game and Fish Department has information for you to be Bear Wise Wyoming.

YouTube user Roman Hintz was fortunate enough to have a grizzly experience during his trip to the Tetons, but was a responsible and safe distance