Yellowstone News and Information

Idaho Bowhunters Kill Grizzly in Self-Defense During ‘Surprise Encounter’ Near Yellowstone

  NEWS RELEASE Yellowstone National Park increases protection for bears and visitor safety by implementing changes to two bear management areas Skiers spot Yellowstone’s first grizzly bear of 2024 Grizzly boar walks along the edge of Blacktail Ponds NPS / Jacob W. Frank Subscribe    |  What is RSS News Release Date:  March 13, 2024 Contact:   Morgan Warthin , (307) 344-2015 MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY – To protect bears and increase visitor safety, Yellowstone National Park will create a new  bear management area  (BMA) in Hayden Valley, which will prohibit off-trail travel July 15-Sept. 15. The park also decommissioned an existing BMA in the Firehole River area. Additionally, skiers observed the first grizzly bear of 2024 on March 3. Changes to Two Bear Management Areas Yellowstone is implementing a new 16,453-acre Hayden Valley BMA, located on the west side of the Grand Loop Road in Hayden Valley in the central part of the park. In this BMA, Mary Mo...

  A last minute bear sighting was the perfect ending of our first trip to Yellowstone this season

  Grizzly bear 399’s offspring are now independent NPS Photo/A. Falgoust JACKSON, WY— Grizzly bear 399 has successfully weaned her four offspring, which is normal for female grizzly bears with two-year-old cubs. These young bears will eventually disperse to establish individual home ranges. Residents of Teton County should expect that these bears, and other recently weaned individual bears, could travel through their neighborhoods in pursuit of available habitat. Young bears have a higher potential to become emboldened in seeking out foods in and around human development, especially if they have learned to acquire food there in the past. When this food-conditioned behavior occurs, management options for bear and human safety become limited. As interagency and community partners, BearWise Jackson Hole, Teton County, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will continue our collective efforts to proactively prevent conflicts between bears and people in Teton County. However, the poten...

  Bears with cubs are emerging from dens in Teton County We need your help to secure attractants         NPS Photo/C. Adams JACKSON, WY— Grizzly bears with cubs have begun emerging from their dens in Teton County. As bears become active this spring, BearWise Jackson Hole reminds residents and visitors to secure attractants of any kind and be bear aware. Seeing a bear in its natural habitat is an awe-inspiring experience. However, living and recreating in bear country requires awareness and actions on our part to keep both bears and humans safe. As the grizzly bear population expands within the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, bears continue to disperse across their historical range but also into more populated areas. All of Teton County is now in occupied grizzly bear habitat. Properly storing all attractants to ensure a bear does not obtain a food reward is crucial to keeping bears wild. Once a bear becomes conditioned to human foods, risks to the bear and h...

  Bears are emerging from hibernation in Grand Teton National Park           NPS Photo/C. Adams News Release Date: March 14, 2022 Contact: C.J. Adams, 307.739.3431 MOOSE, WY—On Sunday, March 13, the first grizzly bear sighting of 2022 was reported in Grand Teton National Park. Now that bears are emerging from their dens, visitors and local communities are encouraged to secure attractants. Adult male grizzly bears typically emerge from hibernation in March, and females with young usually emerge between April and early May. When bears emerge from their dens, they search for food, which often includes scavenging carcasses of animals that died during the winter. Bears may display aggressive behavior towards humans if approached while feeding on carcasses. “Bear season has begun, how it ends depends on all of us,” said Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins. “We welcome the community led effort to work across boundaries to protect bears in Ja...

  News Release Highly food conditioned grizzly bear euthanized Public can help save bears by properly securing attractants Date: October 19, 2021 Contact: C.J. Adams, 307.739.3431 MOOSE, WY— For public safety, Grand Teton National Park officials, in coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, euthanized a highly food-conditioned, four-year-old female grizzly bear on Saturday, October 16. This action was taken after the bear received numerous food rewards from unsecured sources, causing it to exhibit increasingly bold behavior. This behavior caused the bear to pose a threat to human safety and therefore it was removed from the population. Over the course of two years, the grizzly received multiple food rewards and demonstrated escalating conflict behavior. In October of 2020, the bear accessed numerous unsecured attractants at a private residence south of the park. During the fall of 2021, the griz...

  You come across a bear. Your next move is very important. Do you know what to do?

  News Release Illinois woman charged in Yellowstone case involving a grizzly receives four days in federal custody and fines Grizzly sow & yearling cub, Roaring Mountain NPS / Neal Herbert News Release Date: October 7, 2021 Contact: Lori Hogan (Contractor), United States Attorney Spokesman , 307-772-2124 Acting United States Attorney Bob Murray announced today that SAMANTHA R DEHRING , age 25 of Carol Stream, Illinois, pleaded guilty to willfully remaining, approaching, and photographing wildlife within 100 yards. The other count, feeding, touching, teasing, frightening, or intentionally disturbing wildlife, was dismissed. Dehring appeared in front of Magistrate Judge Mark L. Carman in Mammoth Hot Springs, Wyoming on October 6, 2021, for her change of plea and sentencing hearing. She was sentenced to four days in custody, one-year unsupervised probation, and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, a $1,000 community service payment to Yellowstone For...

 Searching for grizzlies? Bring your bear spray

Idaho Woman Ordered To Pay Over $5000 In Restitution For Improperly Storing Food In Campsite At Grand Teton National Park

  What’s next for grizzly bears in Idaho, surrounding states? Managers say it’s complicated

  Problem grizzly or problem people? A Togwotee Pass standoff

Grizzly bear 'Felicia' and her cubs may be euthanized for being too close to Wyoming road   Also see: News Release U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Partners Conducting Grizzly Hazing Operations on Togwotee Pass, Public Asked to Avoid Area Irresponsible human behavior escalates need for management actions For Immediate Release June 11, 2021 DENVER – As a result of continued harassment by wildlife viewers creating unsafe conditions on Togwotee Pass in Wyoming, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and partners plan to conduct targeted hazing operations on grizzly bear 863. The Service and partners ask the public to avoid the area if possible and not interfere with these management operations, currently planned for the remainder of June 2021. Allowing wildlife experts to address this issue uninterrupted will increase the chances of this management tactic being successful. People and cars dangerously close to a grizzly bear...

  National Park Service Warns Visitors Not To Push Friends Into Bears

  News Release Top 10 Tips for Visiting Grand Teton National Park Plan like a park ranger Ranger provides information to park visitors to plan their adventure NPS Image/J. Tobiason News Release Date: May 27, 2021 Contact: Denise Germann, 307.739.3393 Contact: C.J. Adams, 307.739.3431 MOOSE, WY— Grand Teton looks forward to welcoming visitors this summer. Learn how to Plan Like A Park Ranger by following our list of the top 10 things you should know before visiting the park. The 2021 season is expected to be BUSY, so make sure to plan ahead, recreate responsibly, and help ensure this iconic landscape may be enjoyed by future generations. 1. Plan ahead, plan ahead, and did we mention…PLAN AHEAD! Know you will have a place to stay overnight. Reservations are required for lodging and all campgrounds in Grand Teton and are mostly booked for the peak season. Reserve your night under the stars and visit the park Camping page . Camping is not allowe...

News Release Visiting Yellowstone National Park this summer? Plan ahead and recreate responsibly West Entrance line Memorial Day weekend 2017 NPS / Jacob W. Frank News Release Date: May 24, 2021 Contact: Morgan Warthin , (307) 344-2015 MAMMOTH HOT SPRINGS, WY - If you plan to travel to Yellowstone National Park this summer, plan ahead and recreate responsibly to protect yourself and this wild and awe-inspiring place. Summer is Yellowstone’s most popular season. Expect long lines at entrance stations, extremely busy facilities and destinations, as well as delayed travel times due to heavy traffic and wildlife jams. If you want a less crowded experience, arrive early or stay late and avoid main attractions such as Old Faithful, Grand Prismatic Spring, the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Norris Geyser Basin during peak hours. Plan ahead   Read the Top Things to Know . Know where you will spend the night. Reserve space in a campground or hotel...