Yellowstone starts annual grizzly bear capture as park issues warning for visitors

Yellowstone biologists begin grizzly capture using baited traps to track health and numbers. Park urges visitors to follow warning signs through October 15.

Yellowstone National Park is warning visitors to follow posted signs as biologists begin their annual grizzly bear capture and study operations. The work starts next Monday and will continue through October 15, as reported by The Independent.

Grizzlies have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1975. (Pexels)

To monitor the population, biologists use road killed deer and elk to bait traps. The bears are caught in culvert traps, metal tubes with sliding doors, or in foot snares designed to hold a paw. Once secured, the animals are sedated with tranquilizers. Scientists then examine the bears, collect health data, and fit some with radio collars to track their movements.

Yellowstone warns visitors to follow signs in restricted areas

Affected areas of the park, which spans nearly 3500 square miles across Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, will be clearly marked with bright warning signs. “It is critical that all members of the public heed these signs,” the park urged in a press release.

The capture program is part of long running efforts to protect grizzly bears, a species that nearly disappeared in the 20th century due to overhunting and habitat loss. Grizzlies have been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act since 1975. Back then, only 700 to 800 bears remained in the lower 48 states. Today, more than two thousand live across the region. Park officials estimate about 1030 grizzlies are spread across 27000 square miles of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Grizzlies are powerful animals. They can stand eight feet tall, weigh between 200 and 700 pounds, and run up to 40 miles per hour. They live as long as 30 years and survive on berries, fish, nuts, grasses, and small mammals.

At the same time, Yellowstone faces heavy tourist traffic. Nearly 1.7 million visits were recorded this year through June. Many visitors struggle to follow safety rules. The term “touron” has spread online to describe tourists who take dangerous risks, such as trying to take selfies with wild animals.

So far this year, two visitors have been injured by bison. A New Jersey man was gored in June, and a Florida man was injured in May. Both survived with minor wounds. Grizzly incidents are rarer. Between 1979 and 2022, researchers found one grizzly related injury for every 3.5 million visits.