Yellowstone Officials Won't Hunt Down Killer Grizzly

Park rangers say sow was just protecting its cubs
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 8, 2011 11:28 AM CDT
Yellowstone Bear Attack Killed Hiker Brian Matayoshi: Rangers Will Let Grizzly Mother Live
Graphic locates the area where one hiker was fatally attacked by a grizzly bear, and shows grizzly-related injuries and deaths from 1975-2010.   (S. Chen)

Word spread quickly through Yellowstone National Park about a fatal grizzly bear mauling—the park's first in 25 years—but few visitors at the height of tourist season seemed inclined to change their vacations because of the news. Thousands of people streamed into the park yesterday, a day after 57-year-old Californian Brian Matayoshi was attacked and killed by a female bear on a backcountry trail. Officials said the sow was only defending its two six-month-old cubs, had not threatened humans before, and would be left to wander the wilderness.

Whenever there is a run-in or attack involving bears, park officials must decide whether the attack was defensive or an act of aggression. In Wednesday's mauling, they based their conclusion on the account of the hiker's wife, who survived, as well as their knowledge of bear behavior. The mother bear had never been documented before, never been tagged, and there was no reason to believe it had interacted with humans before, a park spokesman said. Park officials called the mauling a "1-in-3-million" encounter that shouldn't condition the sow to attack again. They collected DNA samples from fur at the attack site, so they can determine if the bear is involved in another attack. (More Yellowstone National Park stories.)

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