Biologists flying over Yellowstone National Park on Saturday documented the park’s first known grizzly bear sighting of 2020.
The park announced Monday that the sighting, near Grand Prismatic Spring in the Midway Geyser Basin, occurred a day earlier than last year’s first sighting.
“Now that bears are emerging from winter dens, visitors should be excited for the chance to view and photograph them, but they should also treat bears with respect and caution,” said Kerry Gunther, the park’s bear management biologist.
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“Many visitors think bears are ravenously hungry and more likely to attack people for food after emerging from hibernation, but almost all bear attacks result from surprise encounters when hikers startle bears at close distances and the bears react with defensive aggression.”
Male grizzly bears are typically first to emerge from hibernation, beginning in early March. Momma bears with cubs leave their dens in April and early May.
Although wintry weather might persist in and around the park for weeks, visitors are urged to exercise caution.
“Hikers, skiers, and snowshoers should travel in groups of three or more, carry bear spray, and make noise,” Gunther cautioned.
Visitors are supposed to maintain a distance of at least 100 yards from grizzly bears.
Yellowstone also reminded tourists that access to areas where there’s a high density of winter-kill bison and elk carcasses will be restricted in the weeks ahead to minimize the risk of surprise bear-human encounters.
–Generic grizzly bear image and Grand Prismatic Spring image are courtesy of Yellowstone/NPS