A black bear that bit a woman camper and a child was killed by Yellowstone rangers/NPS, Neal Herbert file
A black bear sow that walked into a backcountry campsite and bit a woman on her arm and head and "nipped" the hand of a child in the group was killed by Yellowstone National Park rangers who arrived on the scene while the bear was eating the campers' food.
A park release said that about 5 p.m. Moday the bear entered the campsite occupied by three adults and two children as they were sitting outside of their tents. The campsite is located approximately 3 miles from the Hellroaring Trailhead in the northern part of the park.
"The bear walked up to an adult woman and bit her on the right arm and head, inflicting bruises and minor abrasions," the release said. "The bear also nipped at the right hand of one of the two children. The bear then walked over to the group’s food, which was under a storage pole but not yet hung and began consuming it.
"Rangers responded by horseback and when they arrived on scene, the bear was still in the campsite eating the backpackers’ food."
The rangers decided to kill the bear out of concern for human safety, the fact that it had entered an occupied campsite and bit two of its occupants, and because it had "received a considerable food reward after this behavior."
"The risk of being injured by a black bear while in backcountry campsites in Yellowstone National Park is approximately 1 in 850,000 overnight stays,” said Yellowstone Bear Management Biologist Kerry Gunther. “Although the risk is low, the park recommends that backcountry campers carry bear spray while hiking and when in camp. Hang food from the food pole at all times except when cooking or eating."
In Yellowstone, injuries to humans by black bears are very rare, and occur about once every seven years.
In 2019, park staff responded to multiple incidents involving bears exhibiting habituated behavior.
Comments
There's no mention of bear spray, so I'll assume the people did not use it. Unfortunate.
With chidren present, I can see that the adults may have decided that the best thing to do would not anger the bear any more that it had it already attacked. All things went all well in the end for the campers.
Wonder how you get bit on the head by a bear when you're in a group of five people sitting around eating food? I doubt the woman was standing up when she was bitten. Certainly doesn't sound like she was in a fight with the bear and got knocked down either.
As the group had not properly stored their food, one must wonder how clean their campsite was. Had they lured the bear there through bad housekeeping. Sad that a bear was destroyed if that was the case. They should have been cited for failure to secure their food.