A grizzly bear that managed to find its way into several bear-resistant dumpsters inside Yellowstone National Park was ultimately killed for its actions.
Fearing that the animal was becoming too accustomed to entering populated areas and consuming human food, officials at the park determined that the animal's death was in the best interest of not only human visitors but also the bear population.
To explain its reasoning, Yellowstone National Park (@yellowstonenps) took to Instagram.
In the post, Yellowstone shared several photos that documented the mess the bear left behind. Despite being equipped with bear-resistant measures, the dumpsters and trash cans in the park were no match for the grizzly.
Yellowstone bear management biologist Kerry Gunther offered a logic-based explanation for euthanizing the bear, even though it may have been nonviolent.
"It's unfortunate that this bear began regularly seeking out garbage and was able to defeat the park's bear-resistant infrastructure," Gunther said.
"We go to great lengths to protect bears and prevent them from becoming conditioned to human food. But occasionally, a bear outsmarts us or overcomes our defenses. When that happens, we sometimes have to remove the bear from the population to protect visitors and property," Gunther added.
When wild animals become too comfortable around humans, they can lose their natural fear, becoming unpredictable and dangerous. This can endanger both animals and humans. Additionally, human-wildlife interactions can open the door to the introduction of diseases and other health concerns.
In the comments section, many users were upset over the park's decision to euthanize the grizzly.
"The bear paid the ultimate price for being smart and resourceful. Something fundamentally wrong with that," one user noted.
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Definitely 👍 "The national park is their habitat!! Stop killing bears, educate people," argued a second commenter.
However, a third user offered a different take. "I'm also sad for the bear management team that had to make this decision," they wrote. "Same people crying and shaming will be the first to blame if that same bear came after their tent in a campground."
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