Grizzly bear relocated near Yellowstone after hunting for cattle on private land

A grizzly bear was relocated to an area near Yellowstone National Park by wildlife officials, who said it kept killing cattle on private land.

In a statement, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said the bear was moved to an area about 30 miles from the northeast entrance of the park on May 4.

Capturing an animal and relocating it is a method that wildlife officials use to minimize conflict between grizzly bears and people, the department said in a May 6 news release. The strategy is “critical to managing the expanding population of grizzly bears in Wyoming,” according to the release.

However, bears are only captured when all other methods of deterring them or preventing them from interacting with people are exhausted, the release said. The location that bears are taken to depends on their “age, sex, and the type of conflict the bear was involved in, as well as potential human activity nearby,” officials said.

Grizzly bears are only relocated to areas that already have other grizzly bears, and bears that pose a threat to human safety are not relocated and may be euthanized. When bears are relocated, the agency consults with other agencies to “minimize the chance of future conflicts and maximize the relocated grizzly bear’s survival,” the release said.

Sunlight Creek, the area where the grizzly bear was placed, is a tributary of the Clarks Fork Yellowstone River, USA Today reported. The area is an important habitat for grizzly bears and other animals, including gray wolves, moose, elk, deer and other species, according to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

This story was originally published May 9, 2022 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Grizzly bear relocated near Yellowstone after hunting for cattle on private land."