CASPER — Grizzly bears are running into people more often this summer in Wyoming — and wildlife officials say the weather is mostly to blame.
A cold spring and heavy late-season snows in the mountains have forced grizzly bears to search for food at lower elevations.
And there are more grizzlies. The population has grown since the 1970s, when grizzly bears received federal protection. Experts think the population is increasing at a rate of 4 percent to 7 percent annually, with 600 grizzlies in and around Yellowstone National Park.
“Both black and grizzly bear populations are thriving,” said Wyoming Game and Fish bear management officer Brian DeBolt. “Just due to the numbers game, if you’ve got more bears, you are going to have more conflicts.”
Since June, there have been several encounters between humans and bears in western Wyoming. A grizzly killed an Illinois man last month near Yellowstone’s east entrance.
Park rangers in the Bridger-Teton National Forest closed a camping area for more than a week after multiple bear sightings by campers and hikers. Rangers lifted the ban Friday.
Chris Servheen, grizzly bear recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told the Casper Star-Tribune that wildlife protection means grizzlies live longer and have more cubs.
“As we get more bears, they show up in more and more places,” he said.
But Servheen added that the grizzly population won’t expand forever: “When it runs out of space, the population balances.”
Numbers
600 Grizzlies living in and around Yellowstone National Park
4% to 7% Annual increase in grizzly population
