BILLINGS, Mont. — Yellowstone’s grizzlies are going to be particularly hungry this fall, and that means more dangerous meetings with humans in a year that is already the area’s deadliest on record.
Scientists report that a favorite food of many bears, nuts from whitebark pine cones, is scarce.
So as grizzlies look to put on some major pounds in preparation for winter, they will be looking for another source of protein — meat — and running into trouble along the way, scientists say.
“Pack your bear spray — there’s going to be run- ins,” said grizzly researcher Chuck Schwartz of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Grizzlies have fatally mauled two people this year in Wyoming and Montana. That is the most in one year in at least a century for the Yellowstone region.
