Grizzly Attacks in Yellowstone

Photo by James Yule

Late last summer, my fiancee and I spent a week camping and hiking through the backcountry of Yellowstone National Park. The night before we hiked in, we stayed at the Old Faithful Lodge. As we were checking out the next morning, I exchanged the standard pleasantries with the elderly gentlemen behind the front desk. He gave me a receipt and asked what our plans were for the day. When I informed him that we'd be spending the next four days and four nights in the backcountry, he replied matter-of-factly, "Y'know a hiker was attacked and killed by a grizzly yesterday, right?" I said "Uhh, no." To which the man replied, "Yeah, he was half-eaten." 

I shared the news with my fiancee, and we both shrugged and exchanged "there's no turning back now" looks. We applied some SPF, hoisted our packs, and set off into the wilderness, my bear spray canister dangling from the hip belt of my pack. I prayed I would not need to unholster it.  

We did not see any bears on our trip, only a faintly discernible paw print and a pile of "scat" (bear poop). I lied wide awake each night in our tent, listening alertly for even the faintest sound out there in the deep, dark woods. When we returned to the lodge four days later, dirty and exhausted, we were relieved but also disappointed. 

Jessica Grose at Slate.com has published a detailed account of the Grizzly attacks that occured at Yellowstone last summer. The report focuses on the National Park Service's method of investigating Grizzly attacks and the debate over whether the bears involved should be euthanized. Read it here.