Grizzly Bear Shot Dead in Yellowstone, Wyoming Hunter Jailed with $10k Fine

A Wyoming hunter was arrested and faces a fine of $10,000 if found guilty of killing a protected grizzly bear outside Yellowstone National Park that he claimed to have mistaken for a black bear that was open to hunting.

Following its demise on May 1 near US 14-16-20, the eastern entrance to Yellowstone, the male grizzly, which weighed about 530 pounds, attracted a lot of attention from motorists.

Grizzly Bear Shot Dead

According to a statement made in an affidavit submitted to Park County Circuit Court by game warden Travis Crane of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Patrick M. Gogerty of Cody turned himself in early the following morning.

By that time, there were widespread reports regarding the deceased bear.

Grizzlies are a federally protected species and can only be found in the Yellowstone region of southern Montana, eastern Idaho, and northwestern Wyoming.

Under state and federal law, killing someone without a valid justification, such as self-defense, may result in severe consequences.

According to Wyoming law, Gogerty is accused of committing a misdemeanor by killing a grizzly bear without a permit.

If found guilty, he could be sentenced to time in jail, a heavy fine, and up to $25,000 in reparations.

Grizzly Bears vs. Black Bears

Compared to grizzly bears, black bears are usually smaller and darker.

However, sometimes the larger black bears with slight brownish coloring and the smaller grizzly bears with deeper coloring are mistaken for the other species.

On the first day the normal black bear hunting season began in the regions west of Cody, Gogerty went hunting.

According to the evidence submitted on Thursday in Circuit Court, he initially noticed the bear approximately 100 yards off the highway.

He allegedly informed Crane, the game warden, that he initially believed the bear he shot seven times was a black bear since it lacked a grizzly's distinctively humped back, according to RochesterFirst.

Mistaken Identity

According to a recently revised study published by USGS, grizzlies on the boundaries of Yellowstone were killed on average six times each year from 2015 to 2020 by hunters and other people acting in self-defense or mistaking them for something else.

These interactions often take place in secret, off-limits locations on private property.

Far more than they do now, as many as 50,000 grizzlies previously roamed the western US.

Nevertheless, with rebounding populations in Yellowstone and other regions in the lower 48 states, they are seen as a conservation success story.

Since the 1970s, the number of grizzly bears in the Yellowstone region has increased up to tenfold, to a maximum of 1,000 animals, according to FOX News.

The USGS research said that for dependent-age bears or those under two years old calculates the percentage of human-caused death concerning the size of the population group but excludes estimates of unreported or unknown mortality.

The individual records recorded by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team on an annual basis are represented by the mortality statistics in this data release.