An autopsy conducted Monday has confirmed the hiker found dead Friday, August 7 in Yellowstone National Park was killed by a grizzly bear. Results from genetic (DNA) analysis of bear hair samples collected next to Crosby’s body confirmed the adult female grizzly bear that was captured at the scene on the night the body was discovered was the bear involved in the fatal attack.
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Arrangements have been made to transfer the bear’s two cubs to a facility accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).
The bear had eaten part of the body of 63-year-old Lance Crosby, and hid the rest of it. Spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said that this was not normal behavior for a bear looking to defend and protect its cubs, and so the animal had to be euthanized.
“If a bear consumes an individual, it’s not allowed to remain in the population”, she said.
As for the two bears that were relocated Wyoming Game and Fish Large Carnivore Specialist Dusty Lassiter says one bear was four miles west of Meeteetse that was getting into grain next to a residential area. In such a defensive attack, however, a bear typically would leave once the threat had been neutralized. His body was discovered by park rangers last Friday.
According to The Weather Network, the visitors of the park are more likely to be killed by a lightning strike than being attacked by a bear, with the chances of the latter being 1 in 2.1 million.
Recently grizzly bears have been in the news quite a bit.
“As managers of Yellowstone National Park, we balance the preservation of park resources with public safety”, Park Superintendent Dan Wenk said in a statement. Fearing further such attacks from the bear, officials decided it was best that the animal be euthanized. The decision to euthanize the bear was also met with protests after it was revealed that the hiker was not carrying a bear spray or had taken any precautions before venturing into known bear territory.
The area surrounding the site where Crosby was attacked has been closed to hikers as a precaution.
Area closures implemented following the attack will be lifted Friday.
However, others have backed the park service’s decision, often citing the concern that the bears might have come to correlate people with food.
Crosby’s death was the first fatal grizzly encounter in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem since 2011.
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