Yellowstone Euthanizes Food-Conditioned Black Bear

Yellowstone National Park officials euthanized an adult female black bear on July 11 after it repeatedly targeted human food at a backcountry campsite in the Blacktail Deer Creek drainage. The bear first crushed an unoccupied tent on June 7, then returned on July 11, climbing a food storage pole to access and eat properly stored food bags—behavior considered both rare and dangerous. Park biologists determined the bear had become food-conditioned, increasing risks for both humans and wildlife. Officials stated the bear's ability to defeat bear-resistant food storage systems and escalating behavior posed a threat that warranted lethal removal. Yellowstone continues to emphasize the importance of strict food storage guidelines at its 293 backcountry campsites, all equipped with storage poles or bear-resistant boxes. This was the first black bear killed in a management action since 2020, underscoring the rarity of such events.