This June 7, 2005 file photo released by Yellowstone National Park shows a grizzly bear moving through the brush at the park in Wyoming. A grizzly mauled a man to death in Yellowstone National Park Wednesday, July 6, 2011, the first such death in the park in a quarter century but the third in the region in just over a year. Park officials are clearing the area of other hikers and warning people to stay away. Yellowstone and nearby surrounding areas are home to a growing number of grizzlies, at least 600 and some say more than 1,000. (AP Photo/Yellowstone National Park, James Peaco, File)By MATT VOLZ
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – Yellowstone National Park authorities will not try to capture a female grizzly that killed a backcountry hiker because it was trying to defend her cubs when she was surprised by the man, a spokesman said today.
Park spokesman Al Nash said Wednesday’s mauling of the 57-year-old man was a purely defensive act. He said Yellowstone typically does not try to capture or remove a bear in what he called “a wildlife incident.”
Wednesday’s attack occurred about 1-1/2 miles up a popular backcountry trail and was the first fatal grizzly attack inside the park in 25 years – but the third in the Yellowstone region in just over a year.
The attack occurred in an area that is one of Yellowstone’s top attractions, and busloads of tourists normally gather there to take in the view from Artist Point, one of the park’s most iconic. A stunning waterfall drops hundreds of feet in the canyon, and trails along both canyon rims are normally crawling with tourists.