Bear Will Not Be Euthanized After Yellowstone Mauling

Officials at Yellowstone National Park said a female grizzly bear that attacked and killed a hiker earlier this week was trying to protect her cubs and not acting aggressively. The bear will be allowed to continue to roam free with her family.

CNN reported that around 11 a.m. on Wednesday Brian Matayoshi and his wife Marylyn, both experienced hikers from Southern California, came out of a forested area on a back country trail and surprised a mother bear and her two cubs while they were relaxing in an open meadow.

Dan Wenk, Park Superintendent said, “Upon seeing the bear, they began to back down the trail and when they turned to check, the bear was in full charge towards them.”

The bear caught up with the couple and attacked Mr. Matayoshi while his wife took cover behind a fallen tree. After the grizzly bit and clawed her husband it then advanced toward Marylyn, lifting her off the ground by grabbing hold of her backpack. Marylyn played dead and the bear lumbered off, leaving her uninjured.

Marylyn called out for help and was aided by other hikers in the area, but her husband died at the scene.

At first park rangers thought they would have to capture and possibly kill the bear, but their investigation led them to conclude she was only trying to protect her cubs.

“This bear is not marked in any way and has never been involved in another conflict in the area,” said wildlife biologist Kerry Gunther.

He also said the couple did almost everything right during the encounter, except carry bear spray which is generally effective in keeping bears away. It was the Matayoshi’s fourth trip to Yellowstone.

Wenk told Reuters, “The bear’s behavior is consistent with a bear who was in a defensive posture. We did not see anything predatory in terms of the bear’s actions.”

The female grizzly and her two 6-month-old cubs had been spotted in the area before the attack and have remained in the meadow area since Wednesday. A warning sign to other hikers has been posted on the trail.

Biologists believe there are at least 600 bears in the greater Yellowstone area. And although mauling’s are very rare with an occurrence of “1 in 3 million”, tourists have reported seeing many bears this season.

Last summer a mother grizzly was captured and euthanized after she killed a camper while he slept and bit two others in the Soda Butte Campground five miles from Yellowstone. Her one-year-old cubs were sent to the zoo in Billings, Montana. It was determined the bear had “displayed unprovoked aggressive behavior.”

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Creative Commons - Xinem

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
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Robin R.

1:05PM PDT on Oct 19, 2011

A friend of mine surprised a mother grizzly and her cubs while hiking near Calgary Alberta last month. The mother chased down the two hikers, and swiped at my friend and mangled his hand. She had him pinned and would have killed him for sure but the other hiker made a lot of noise and provoked her away from him. When she realized that the two were clearly separated from each other, and that she was further from her babies than she cared to be, she left them and went back to her cubs... She was acting in an unusually agressive manner and the guys think that is because of the gunshots that they had heard less than an hour earlier... Shocker that human violence was the stem of the bear's reactionary behaviour. Both hikers made explicit requests that this bear not be harmed as a consequence of the "attack" and the bear has been left in peace. After weeks of physical therapy my friend still has severe tissue damage in his hand - but he is thankful that everyone involved survived this incident, including the bear.

send a green star

Cecilie D.

6:33PM PDT on Oct 5, 2011

This decision to not kill the mother bear is one of the best wildlife decisions we have read of in awhile. Too often a bear or cougar merely wandering hungry into human areas is taken as a need to kill solution. As wild creatures,animals naturally MAY be agressive to the scent and appearance of a human. Even bears, cougars and wolves who do not fall into the ' only protecting her cubs " category should be spared.

Henisa A.

8:49AM PDT on Oct 4, 2011

thankgoddd the bear is allowed to roam free!! sorry t te woman and her husband.. but ur invading their terretory... rather than hiking.. go spned your energy on saving these habtatas and bears ... thankyou

Laurie G.

7:40AM PDT on Oct 4, 2011

I feel so sorry for the woman, whose husband died. I'm also glad that they didn't kill the mother bear, who was protecting her cubs. Why did the cubs of the other mother bear have to be put in a ZOO of all places? Why not a wildlife refuge at least?

Sonny H.

7:31AM PDT on Oct 4, 2011

Good news.

Beth H.

1:38PM PDT on Sep 28, 2011

That's just a mother's instinct and unfortunately that couple was in the wrong place at the wrong time according to the bear.

Rita D.

1:34PM PDT on Sep 28, 2011

Is there no place on earth where man will not go? No more than that bear would ever enter the house of any man, humans should be restricted in areas where bears make their home. In comparison to the land space that man has appropriated for himself, and is killing species in what is called the sixth extinction, we should simply agree to leave land areas for other species. Then the decision to euthanize an animal wouldn't have to be made at all, and human lives would not be lost.

Chris M.

7:25AM PDT on Sep 28, 2011

Wow...white, male wildlife officials made a good decision regarding killing a bear. There just might be a glimmer of hope in this sad world.

Carolyn B.

7:12AM PDT on Sep 28, 2011

The world is a dangerous place. Hikers fall off cliffs and into ravines too, we don't need to level every cliff and fill every ravine. I'm happy to live in a world where I can take risks, and when something goes wrong humans don't feel the need to take revenge on the natural world. Don't want to risk being mauled by a bear? Stay out of Yellowstone. It's not like bears will come and get you in your living room.

Kori B.

5:20AM PDT on Sep 28, 2011

Well they wouldn't kill a person who shot an intruder who potentially posed a threat to them. Although I do not condone that action or anything even close to it, for a bear there is only one defense and it should not be punished for protecting its own - and its cubs left to die.