Grizzly kills man near Yellowstone

[Track-er]

CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- A grizzly bear killed a man just outside Yellowstone National Park, apparently just hours after researchers had trapped and tranquilized the animal.

The Park County Sheriff's Office says the attack happened Thursday after members of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team finished examining a large adult male grizzly.

The victim was 70-year-old Erwin Frank Evert, of Cody, whose wife reported him missing to a member of the grizzly team. The team member returned to the capture site about six miles outside Yellowstone's East Entrance and found Evert's body.

The study team is made up of federal and state biologists who monitor and study grizzlies in the Yellowstone ecosystem. Team leader Chuck Schwartz did not immediately return a message Friday seeking comment.

[dirty24d]

Are you allowed to carry firearms at yellowstone? rifles?

[Special T]

I think some CWP holders can... in this state.... pistols only.

[Winchester670]

Sigh sure is a shame but it does go to show when they trap and tranquilize them like that it can make them mean towards humans

[dirty24d]

Sorry for his wife, but when you roam the beasts turf you must be on your toes at all times.  Man and grizzly are both apex predators at the top of the food chain, we cannot interact peacefully in harmony. In my opinion anyone that sets out  attempting to view these predators up close and personal or feels that they can just roam their turf without consequence is foolish. I'm not saying that this was the case in this death. But these stories are common and they usually always involve some wildlife viewer or hiker/camper that enters the wilderness unprepared and naive to the situation they are entering. I'm just rambling but it stresses the point to be aware of your surroundings and to pack and or arm yourself accordingly.   

[winston2789]

Sorry for his wife, but when you roam the beasts turf you must be on your toes at all times.  Man and grizzly are both apex predators at the top of the food chain, we cannot interact peacefully in harmony. In my opinion anyone that sets out  attempting to view these predators up close and personal or feels that they can just roam their turf without consequence is foolish. I'm not saying that this was the case in this death. But these stories are common and they usually always involve some wildlife viewer or hiker/camper that enters the wilderness unprepared and naive to the situation they are entering. I'm just rambling but it stresses the point to be aware of your surroundings and to pack and or arm yourself accordingly.   

 

[carpsniperg2]

bum deal

[ICEMAN]

Confused.... was the deceased part of the team which tranquilized the bear? Or someone just loitering near the site?

[Bob33]

Are you allowed to carry firearms at yellowstone? rifles?

Yes.
http://www.nps.gov/yell/parknews/10008.htm

[whitey]

Firearms should not be considered a wildlife protection strategy.
WTF does that mean?
You can have a firearm but You cant use it?
May as well just pack a sling shot.

[lokidog]

Whole story says they found him near where the bear was left to wake up.  I bet he was hiking and saw this bear just laying there looking dead so went up to see what was up with it.  Then the bear came to and was pissed off at the butt poking biologists (just a figure of speech    ) and ripped the guy apart.  They were supposed to have warning signs in the area, I bet they didn't.

[bearpaw]

Too bad it happened. Makes a guy wonder what effects (thought processes, if any) it has on a grizzly to be captured and tranquilized by humans.

[denali]

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_f45a84f8-7bbd-11df-9a95-001cc4c002e0.html




CODY, Wyo. - Wildlife officials are notifying guest lodge owners near the east entrance to Yellowstone National Park that they have killed a grizzly bear that is believed to have fatally mauled a man Thursday afternoon.

The adult male grizzly bear had been snared and tranquilized by federal researchers Thursday morning and fitted with a radio collar before being released.

Erwin Frank Evert, 70, of Park Ridge, Ill., was found dead at the capture site Thursday after the bear was released. Evert ignored warning signs posted advising hikers to avoid the area because of the likelihood of a dangerous bear encounter.

Wildlife officials used a helicopter to track and shoot the bear Saturday morning after making unsuccessful attempts Friday to catch it.

Authorities are conducting blood and DNA tests in an attempt to confirm that the bear shot Saturday is the one that killed Evert. Initial tests results are expected sometime Saturday, while more definitive tests should be completed by Monday.

As a public safety precaution, the U.S. Forest Service has closed the Kitty Creek area, about seven miles east of Yellowstone, where the attack occurred. The area will be reopened once definitive test results are received.

Authorities have said there is a very high likelihood that Evert was killed by the same bear that was trapped and released Thursday, which they also believe is the same bear that was shot Saturday.

Friends and wildlife officials have said that Evert, a botanist who owned a cabin at Kitty Creek, was well aware of the risks of entering the capture area, but that he was curious about work being done there and ignored verbal and posted warnings.

The incident is the first fatal mauling by a grizzly bear in the area in 25 years, and the first such fatal attack to take place at a site where researchers had recently trapped and released a bear.

Federal wildlife officials in charge of grizzly bear management have kept tight control over releasing specific details about the incident, frustrating local officials anxious to share what they say is important public safety information.

Chris Servheen, grizzly bear coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, initially said Friday morning that there would be no attempt made to trap the bear. He later said Friday evening that wildlife workers would trap the bear if such an opportunity arose.

Local officials were telling a different story Friday. A statement released midday by Park County Sheriff Scott Steward said that state and federal wildlife and law enforcement workers were actively tracking the bear.

Other local officials also confirmed that their plan Friday was to trap or kill the bear.

Contact Ruffin Prevost at rprevost@billingsgazette.com or 307-527-7250.




bad deal for both the bear and the old man   

[predatorpro]

that just pisses me off, they just bought that bear a one way ticket with death because of stupid people.....yellowstone is the worst example of conservation there is, its a freakin petting zoo with nothing protecting the morons taking pictures 15 ft away from a sow and her cubs i hope they eat people like that, survival of the fittest!

[Special T]

I took a group of scouts to climb the Grand Tetons... While driving through Jellystone we say a group of 20 tourists horseshoeing around a yearling Grizz eating berries by the side of the road.. they were all in the danger zone of 40yrds or less taking pics oblivious to the danger....   

[littletoes]

I've read that upon waking, the bears have what we can refer to as a "hang-over" from the meds used to knock 'em out.

OK, bears already have a bear "attitude", then give it a hang over? What the hell do you THINK is going to happen??? They listed it as "Unusual Aggresion". WTF are they THINKING??? Bears have unusual aggresion due to thier evolution. Its a tough world, and they are the toughest, with only other bears to deal with.....and us.

We send these guys to school, they are supposed to be "smarter", but at times I am blown away with thier stupidity. They think killing the bear will appease the family. THIS is where anormous LAW SUITS come from. The Family should sue the living shit out of them for not notifying hikers.

You have to purchase permist to hike WAY in advance, you have to notify where you are going.....yet they try and say it was fate....my a$$.

[sisu]

The article, if "true", said the deceased ignored verbal & written warning because, be as a botnist was curious about what was being done to a bear. Hummmm my take is the man screwed up big time, got himself and a relocated bear killed because he as a plant biologist wanted to learn what zoologists do.

No room for a lawsuit if I were on the jury. Stupid is what stupid does. 

[uncoolperson]

Firearms should not be considered a wildlife protection strategy.
WTF does that mean?

Jeff Cooper: 'Owning a gun doesn't make you armed anymore than owning a guitar makes you a musician'.

your wildlife protection "strategy" should include more than "I've got a pistol on my hip".

[sisu]

Firearms should not be considered a wildlife protection strategy.
WTF does that mean?

Jeff Cooper: 'Owning a gun doesn't make you armed anymore than owning a guitar makes you a musician'.

your wildlife protection "strategy" should include more than "I've got a pistol on my hip".

[littletoes]

The article, if "true", said the deceased ignored verbal & written warning because, be as a botnist was curious about what was being done to a bear. Hummmm my take is the man screwed up big time, got himself and a relocated bear killed because he as a plant biologist wanted to learn what zoologists do.

No room for a lawsuit if I were on the jury. Stupid is what stupid does. 

Sisu, you iz Da Man! I missed that part, and if true, he got kinda what he was warned about.....still sad for both him, his family, and the bear.

[sisu]

The article, if "true", said the deceased ignored verbal & written warning because, be as a botnist was curious about what was being done to a bear. Hummmm my take is the man screwed up big time, got himself and a relocated bear killed because he as a plant biologist wanted to learn what zoologists do.

No room for a lawsuit if I were on the jury. Stupid is what stupid does. 

Sisu, you iz Da Man! I missed that part, and if true, he got kinda what he was warned about.....still sad for both him, his family, and the bear.

I knew ya missed that because I know how you think after being here for so long. Ya it is very sad to lose a loved one.
I'll tell ya though when I see those warning signs posted in hiking, fishing or hunting areas I turn around and go some where else. Why screw with a creature that can cause so much damage so quickly. I've had one good griz encounter and don't really want to have another even though the bear was well behaved. Better than most middle school kids at Marysville Middle.

[whitey]

Stupid hurts.
Everyone.

[littlemac]

KXLY.com
Grizzly Suspected Of Killing Man Shot, Killed
Animal Shot From Helicopter
Posted: 1:40 pm PDT June 19, 2010
Updated: 2:45 pm PDT June 19, 2010


Marvin CriswellCODY, Wyo. -- Federal wildlife officials have tracked down and killed a grizzly bear suspected of fatally mauling a man outside Yellowstone National Park.

Chris Servheen, grizzly bear coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the bear was found Saturday by trackers following a signal from a radio collar that had been placed around the bear's neck.

The animal was shot and killed from a helicopter, and it died about 2 miles from where the body of Erwin Frank Evert's body was found.

The 70-year-old Evert had been hiking Thursday near his cabin, east of Yellowstone. The bear had been trapped and tranquilized a few hours before the attack.

Servheen said they decided to kill the bear because it was unclear whether it had some unnatural form of aggression.

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