A grizzly and her cub walk along the water’s edge. (Photo: Thinkstock)

Last week in Yellowstone National Park, a hiker was found dead, partially consumed by bears. That was tragic. But now, according to The Telegraph, a momma grizzly and her two cubs may face a similar fate if a DNA test proves they were responsible for the hiker’s death.

The news that the bears will be put down has nature lovers everywhere outraged.

“Nature should not pay the price for humans venturing out into the wild,” posted one angry commenter on Facebook to park authorities. The park has also been fielding a deluge of calls from people lobbying for the bears’ lives. Many of the protesters believe it’s a case of a mother grizzly protecting her cubs. But was it?

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Decisions to euthanize bears are based on individual circumstances, according to a Slate article about two Yellowstone bear maulings that took place in 2011: “[Guidelines] are quite elaborate but essentially they state: If a grizzly hurts someone while acting in a naturally aggressive way, then the bear goes free. If a grizzly acts unnaturally aggressive, though, and injures a person, it must be euthanized.” In the 2011 scenario, the bear survived her first mistake, but then was involved in another attack and was euthanized. (There is some evidence that sometimes after wild animals have attacked or killed humans, they are more likely to do it again.)

Don’t get too close to a mama grizzly and her cub. (Photo: xinem/Flickr)

It remains unclear exactly what happened in this case. The deceased man, 63-year-old experienced hiker Lance Crosby, was hiking alone (which is against park recommendations) and did not have bear spray with him. According to park officials, preliminary results show that he was attacked by at least one adult grizzly bear, and likely by one cub. His body was found partially consumed and hidden. Other than that, if authorities have an idea of how events played out, they are not sharing.

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After Crosby’s body was found, traps were set to capture the offending bears. A lab will determine if they have the right adult bear in custody, and if they do, she will be put down. Since park officials have not been able to find an alternated home for the bear cubs, they too, may have to be euthanized.



“The decision to euthanize a bear is one that we do not take lightly. As park managers, we are constantly working to strike a balance between the preservation of park resources and the safety of our park visitors and employees,” said Dan Wenk, superintendent of Yellowstone National Park. “Our decision is based on the totality of the circumstances in this unfortunate event. Yellowstone has had a grizzly bear management program since 1983. The primary goals of this program are to minimize bear-human interactions, prevent human-caused displacement of bears from prime food sources, and to decrease the risk of bear-caused human injuries.”



What do you think? Should wild animals that attack humans in the wilderness be put down?

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