Overview

• The bear crushed an unused tent on June 7 and on July 11 climbed a properly secured food pole at a Blacktail Deer Creek backcountry campsite, gaining access to campers’ supplies.
• Park staff concluded the adult female had become food-conditioned after outsmarting preventive measures, posing a clear threat to visitor safety.
• This marks the park’s first lethal removal of a food-conditioned black bear since July 2020, following a grizzly euthanized for similar behavior in May 2025.
• Yellowstone requires the use of food storage poles or bear-resistant containers at all 293 backcountry campsites to prevent wildlife habituation.
• Bear management biologist Kerry Gunther said removal is a difficult decision when animals overcome safeguards, highlighting the balance between conservation and human safety.