Yellowstone National Park will soon be closing off select areas to monitor grizzly bears.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Geological Survey, in conjunction with the National Park Service (NPS), announced in a news release that biologists will begin a grizzly bear research survey from Aug. 28 to Oct. 31.
The survey will monitor the bear population within the park as part of the Endangered Species Act, according to the NPS.
Biologists with the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Team (IGBST) will capture the animals with bait, including “natural food sources such as fresh road-killed deer and elk,” the NPS said, before culvert traps, or foot snares, will be used to capture the mammals.
After the bears are captured, they will be handled through strict safety and animal care protocols put in place by the IGBST and approved by the U.S. Geological Survey and the NPS, per the release.
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Yellowstone National Park.
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Yellowstone is home to both black bears and grizzly bears, with just over 1,000 of the latter in the greater Yellowstone area, according to the NPS.
In its release, the organization noted that the upcoming survey is “vital to [the] ongoing recovery” of the animals, and warned those visiting Yellowstone during the time period to be cautious.
The NPS said the areas around the sites where they are conducting the survey will have bright warning signs that will be posted along the major access points.
“It is important that the public heed these signs and do not venture into an area that has been posted,” the NPS said.
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A grizzly bear wandering the forest.
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Steve Searles, a self-taught bear expert and the subject of Animal Planet’s reality show The Bear Whisperer, recently told PEOPLE that “there are countless, tens of thousands [of bear] encounters every day without it going bad, without an incident.”
Plus, bear attacks are extremely rare, and fatal attacks are even more rare, The New York Times recently reported.
Grizzly bears, a federally protected subspecies of brown bears in the lower 48 states, have killed only eight people in Yellowstone National Park since its establishment in 1872, despite being “much more aggressive” than black bears, according to the NPS.
“More people in the park have died from drowning (125 incidents) and burns (after falling into hot springs, 23 incidents) than have been killed by bears,” the NPS said.
Anyone looking for more information regarding grizzly bear capture efforts can call the IGBST hotline at 406-994-6675. Information about the grizzly bear research and monitoring is also available on the IGBST website.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education