NPS Digest is reporting that a party of three hunters participating in the park’s elk reduction program encountered, shot and killed an adult male grizzly bear around 7:30 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day morning. The bear reportedly charged the hunting party, which was comprised of three men from Wyoming. None of the hunters was injured.
The incident occurred along the east side of the Snake River between Schwabachers Landing and Teton Point Overlook. A team of law enforcement rangers, park biologists and park science and resource management personnel are conducting an investigation into the incident. A cow elk carcass was discovered near the incident location. A half-mile area closure around the carcass is in effect until further notice.
This was the 51st known or probable incident of a grizzly bear mortality in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem this year, according to a tally maintained by the interagency grizzly bear study team. In recent years, an average of about a third of all grizzly bear mortalities are hunting related. This is the first hunter-caused bear death in Grand Teton National Park. Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park
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