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Grizzly Bear Encounters a Critical Issue at Yellowstone National Park

https://www.nps.gov

In 2015, Visitors to Yellowstone exceeded four million for the first time. With so many people visiting the park, dangerous encounters with animals has been an issue. The latest addition of National Geographic Magazine provides information about the human/wildlife conflict in the park.

According to award-winning National Geographic author and writer David Quammen who lived in the Greater Yellowstone Area for thirty years, Grizzly Bear and human conflict has become a critical issue. In recent years, individuals have been attacked and killed and bears have been put down.

“It doesn’t happen very often that a human is attacked, let alone killed by a Grizzly Bear but it does occasionally happen. Usually when a person makes a mistake and/or a bear makes a mistake, there are bad consequences for both.”

In this month’s National Geographic, Quammen authors the entire issue and includes his research about the future of Yellowstone. When it comes to bear encounters…

“You should start with bear spray, you should take a few precautions. It’s better if there are three or four of you than if you’re alone. It’s better if you’re making noise than if you’re quietly moving through brush. You want to be careful about food smells if you go backpacking. You want to eat things that don’t smell very much and make sure you store your food a good distance from your tent.”

The history of Yellowstone National Park and the geology of the area is also featured in the publication.

David Quammen was a guest on Wednesday's Access Utah. You can listen to his interview here.