Black Bear Put Down After Causing Trouble at Wyoming Campground

A weekend camping trip in Lovell, Wyoming turned dangerous when a black bear started making itself a little too comfortable at the Black Canyon Campground — and it ended with park rangers having to put the animal down, Q2 Montana’s News Leader Billings reports.

According to the National Park Service, the adult male bear wandered into two separate campsites Saturday night. At one site, it bit into a camper’s mattress while they slept; at another, it crushed someone’s tent. Rangers aren’t sure if it scored any food this time, but they believe it had been rewarded with snacks from humans in the past — a bad habit that can quickly make bears bold, aggressive, and dangerous.

Once a bear becomes “food-conditioned,” it’s nearly impossible to undo the behavior. Rangers tried hazing techniques to scare it off, but the bear wasn’t having it. Between the property damage, public safety concerns, and the bear’s refusal to leave, officials made the call to euthanize it.

The campground was shut down temporarily during the incident but has since reopened. Park staff say they’ll be stepping up patrols through Labor Day because of increased bear activity.

Rangers are urging campers to follow strict bear safety rules if they want to keep both themselves and wildlife safe — and campgrounds open:

• Never leave food, trash, or dishes out — especially not in your tent.
• Store all food in designated bear boxes.
• Don’t feed bears, ever.
• Pack out all fish guts and scraps — don’t leave them on the lakeshore.

If you’ve had a run-in with a bear at Bighorn Canyon, report it to the Park Service here.