Bear killed after eating campers’ food at Glacier National Park, Montana officials say

A black bear was euthanized after taking food from campers at a Montana national park, officials said.

Glacier National Park staff euthanized a bear after it got food and “exhibited behavior that put human safety at risk,” the National Park Service said in a Thursday news release.

Officials said that on Aug. 28, the bear was walking through the Many Glacier Campground and didn’t respond when people tried to get it to move. The next day, the bear returned to the campsite and started taking apples out of campers’ open truck.

The bear started eating the applies, “exhibiting little fear of humans” and when park staff tried to “haze the bear out,” it tried to go to another campsite where campers were cooking breakfast, according to authorities. The bear returned a half hour later, officials said.

DNA was collected from both campsites and will be tested to see if it was the same bear, according to officials. On Sept. 1, a female bear was trapped near the Many Glacier area and was euthanized, NPS said. The bear was around 4 years old, about 120 pounds and in healthy condition.

“Food-conditioned bears are those that have sought and obtained non-natural foods, destroyed property, or displayed aggressive, non-defensive behavior towards humans and are removed from the wild,” officials said. “Given this bear’s behavior and successful acquisition of human foods the decision was made to remove the animal from the park. Once a bear has become food-conditioned, hazing and aversive conditioning are unlikely to be successful in reversing this type of behavior.”

Officials said that black bears aren’t “good candidates for animal capture facilities such as zoos and animal parks due to the plentiful nature of the species” throughout the country.

Campers are urged to keep the campgrounds free of trash and food that could attract bears and local residents and businesses are reminded to keep garbage, pet food, livestock feed, hummingbird feeders and bird seed secure.

The park service said if you see a bear, don’t stop and watch because it could start a “bear jam” that leads other motorists to also stop. “Bear jams” could be dangerous because they restrict the bear’s movement, limit visibility and increase the chances the bear could approach people and cars in the future.

This story was originally published September 3, 2021 at 12:16 PM with the headline "Bear killed after eating campers’ food at Glacier National Park, Montana officials say."