The Killing of Grizzly 1057
Spring 2020, the world fell in love when 24-yo grizzly 399 introduced her four adorable cubs to the world. Why was one recently killed by Wyoming Fish and Game Department? Image: ©Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven
By Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven
Last week we wildlife lovers realized our worst fear: one of celebrity grizzly 399's newly weaned cubs was dead. A ranger killed it to protect humans. Why?
Award winning wildlife photographer and D: W Team member, Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven
Why Did Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department Kill a Newly Weaned Grizzly Cub?
After repeated conflicts in residential areas and its display of increasingly bold behavior, the two-year-old grizzly cub was trapped and killed by Wyoming's Game and Fish Department.
When grizzly sow 399 weaned her four cubs earlier this spring, all four cubs went on their way. (Read about it here) Two of the cubs went north into the relative safety of Grand Teton National Park, we believe they are still out there. The other two cubs left Jackson Hole and headed southeast into the Green River Valley. One of these was the cub that had been trapped, collared, and numbered in 2021: grizzly 1057.
The Death of 399: Jorn is donating all proceeds of mugs, hoodies, t-shirts, and ornaments with his iconic image of 399 to grizzly conservation organizations: Vital Ground and JH Bear Solutions. Purchase here
The authorities knew the cub's location thanks to the GPS collar. So they pro-actively started knocking on doors in the residential area to ensure that no easy food rewards were available around the homes.
Unfortunately, the bear found food in an unsecured refrigerator outside a home in the small town of Cora. After that, it started appearing more and more on people's porches, looking for food.
At two-years old, the four cubs are full sized grizzly bears on their final “tour” with mom 399. Days later they were dispersed and looking for easy food. The second bear (collared) is #1057 Image: ©Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven
When a Bear Loses It’s Fear of Humans It is Dangerous
On one occasion, a resident tried to scare the bear away by firing a warning shot. Grizzly 1057 showed no reaction or fear. On another occasion, a resident accidentally hit the bear on its behind when they opened the door to their house.
"The more food it gets, the more bold it gets," Wyoming Game and Fish Department Public Information Specialist Mark Gocke told the Buckrail.
"When you start seeing it [the bear] in places like up on front porches, things like that tell us that this bear had received a lot of food rewards and had become human food conditioned. It was clearly a human safety issue."
Thanks to Human Irresponsibility, The Young Bear Never Had a Chance
399’s cubs, including young grizzly #1057 being taught the habits that would led it its death. Will this irresponsible homeowner’s and other’s actions eventually kill the other cubs too? Only time will tell. Image Courtesy of the US Fish and Wildlife.
In addition to the food rewards found in the unsecured refrigerator in Cora, the cub also received food rewards in several other documented instances.
The cub was only a few months old when in 2020 and 2021, grizzly 399 and her cubs discovered unsecured livestock feed, compost piles, bird feeders, and beehives.
But the incident that most directly foretold this death was deliberately orchestrated by a resident from the Solitude subdivision near the Jackson Hole airport. The female homeowner was caught red-handed by Game and Fish when 399 and the cubs were feeding on her back porch.
Why did the authorities not attempt to relocate the cub to save its life?
"In this case, if we know that a bear has gotten that food conditioned and that bold, we know that if we relocate it to the forest, there's a pretty slim chance it will live out its life and stay there. We relocate a lot of bears, but if we know there's a good chance that bear is not going to stay wild and end up in a campground, that's irresponsible as an agency," Gocke told the Buckrail.
So Why Was Grizzly 1057 Killed? To Protect Humans That Caused its Behavior
Feeding them, even accidentally, is killing them. Period. Be responsible. Image: ©Jorn Vangoidtsenhoven Better Days: 2 of 399’s four 2020 cubs when there was still time to save them.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's ultimate decision gave Wyoming's Game and Fish Department permission to kill grizzly 1057. "This was authorized out of concern for human safety as this bear became more emboldened in its behavior while seeking food rewards and habituation to the presence of humans," Joe Szuszwalak, spokesman for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, told the Cowboy State Daily. Many bears who are not yet considered dangerous are relocated.
In its short existence, humans were responsible for illegally and irresponsibly feeding this bear, but the bear paid the ultimate price with his life. Hopefully, the other three cubs face a better future.