Yellowstone National Park News

A recent article in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle was about a 332 pound, five year old bear that had been captured and tagged as he was used to getting food from campsites, and for that he will likely be killed or sent to a zoo. This bear was so popular that he was nicknamed “Thumper” by people who enjoyed his antics. He never harmed anyone. The article goes on to say that he had been “fitted with red ear tags and a GPS radio collar wrapped in bright yellow ribbon.” The Park Service complained that “human foods are the chief culprit in the creation of problem bears, and can lead to their becoming increasingly aggressive.”

Bear and wolves in Yellowstone.  The bear in the photo was over a carcass trap set by the Park Service.  This is the bear mentioned in the Bozeman Daily Chronically article.

Jim Robertson wrote:

I recently returned from Yellowstone where I saw the very bear mentioned in this article the day before they tagged his ears and forced him to wear a radio collar (June 24th). I have photos of him competing with wolves over an elk carcass. (Anyone wanting to use them for articles on grizzly or wolf recovery, etc., contact me.) That night, the Park “Service” put the carcass in a bear trap to try to catch the 5 year old male grizzly (whose “type” I heard them say was “not in high demand”). Though people reported that he entered the trap at 7:00 in the evening, they did not check the trap until the next day–14 HOURS LATER!!! He went all night without water and not knowing what fate awaited him!

As the article points out, he was collared and followed from then on. At one point, he walked past a fenced dump, but did not attempt to go in, although they accused him of it and slated him to be shot. I heard from others who live in the area that the stories of his food thefts are also fabrications. The day I left, I heard they were going to kill him for wandering near a campground located in his territory. Possibly the only reason they did not shoot him that day was that 60 minutes was filming him for a piece on grizzly recovery. Anyone upset at the Park Service’s heavy-handed policy should contact them.

Please do not forget to call your Reps regarding bison…

YELLOWSTONE BUFFALO VOTE IN CONGRESS EXPECTED TODAY

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider an amendment offered by Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Charles Bass (R-NH) to prohibit the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service from using taxpayer dollars to kill buffalo in Yellowstone National Park. Your Representative needs to hear from you today that you want him or her to vote for the Hinchey-Bass Buffalo Amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill!

Sadly, this was defeated on June 17th.