500-Lb Grizzly Bear Slaughtered in Yellowstone National Park

In Yellowstone National Park, a 500-lb grizzly bear was discovered to have been butchered. Authorities are now looking.

According to accounts and pictures from the area, a grizzly bear is believed to have been killed close to Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park. Federal wildlife officials are looking into the incident.

Grizzly Bear Slaughtered

The dead bear was discovered by photographer Amy Gerber early on Monday along North Fork Highway, just between Yellowstone and the town of Cody, which is roughly 60 miles from the park's east entrance.

Her pictures of the bear discovered 14 miles outside the park quickly gained popularity on Facebook.

The US Fish & Wildlife Service acknowledged to CBS News that the organization is looking into the event, but they are unable to speak further at this time due to the nature of current investigations, USA Today reports.

Protected Species

According to the National Parks Service, grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region have been covered by the Endangered Species Act since 2018. From barely 136 in the area in 1975 to 1,063 in 2021, the animal has recovered. According to ABC News, there is presently a conservation strategy in place to assist get them off the list of threatened species.

The US Fish & Wildlife Service categorized four unique populations of grizzly bears in the lower 48 states as "threatened" on July 28, 1975, per the provisions of the Endangered Species Act, as updated, in part because the species had been constrained to only about 2% of its previous habitat south of Canada.

It was estimated that there were still five or six tiny communities with 800 to 1,000 bears in total. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), there are 136 grizzly bears known to reside in the middle of the 1970s. It was home to the southernmost-and most isolated-of those groups. According to the National Park Service, the purpose of an Endangered Species Act listing is to bring a species back to self-sustaining, sustainable populations that do not require protection.

According to Dan Thompson, a big carnivore specialist for Game and Fish, grizzlies are still subject to federal regulation in Wyoming, so the USFWS is in charge of the inquiry.

According to USFWS Special Agent Richard Gamba, the case is being examined as a potential illegal killing, but no other information could be made public on Tuesday.

Thompson stated that the inquiry had only just started and that the agency was unable to confirm the sex, estimated age, or size of the dead bear.

Bear Encounter

Visitors to Yellowstone are advised by the National Parks Service to prepare for grizzly encounters. The bears should never be fed and people should keep at least 100 yards away from them while taking pictures.

If a bear approaches, cars ought to honk and flee. While hiking, if a bear approaches, stay still and avoid "playing dead," running, shouting, or making rapid movements. Instead, attempt to put some space between you and the bear to prevent surprising it. It is also advisable to have bear spray in the region, CBS News reports.