Yellowstone National Park, August 26, hiker John Wallace, 59, was found dead along the Mary Mountain Trail. An autopsy confirmed he was killed by a grizzly the day before he was found, according to information the park released Friday. Now Yellowstone authorities report that they have captured a 450 p0und 25 year old male grizzly as the suspect. DNA testing will be done to determine if this grizzly is the killer. If confirmed, the grizzly will be killed.
There have been 2 deaths by grizzly so far this year in Yellowstone. Heretofore, there have been seven deaths attributed to grizzly bear since the inception of Yellowtone in 1872. About 3 million people visit Yellowstone annually and there is an average of 1 bear injury per year. However, three of the deaths have been in the past year.
Why will the bear be killed? Isn’t that what bears do? They are wild animals. Stories of the west all include our heroes getting into life or death conflicts with grizzly bears. It appears that man is trespassing on grizzly bear turf, not the other way around.
As one of those geeks who has driven up the mountain in Yellowstone to gawk at grizzlies, I can attest to the fact that people are fools. People set up tripods and move far away from their cars. I have never seen anyone allow a bear as close as in the video, however. That is just suicidal. There is always a raft of tourists out watching the bears eat. Even though it appears that the bears are a great distance from you, it is still a good idea to be able to get to safety immediately. A bear can always approach from a different direction, undetected. I have also seen fools go out and stick a camera in the face of a buffalo. People forget that wild animals are…WILD and unpredictable.
