Illustrations by Délice Williams
The Grizzly Past & Future of Our National Parks: Addressing Rising Rates of Bear Attacks In North American National Parks
The scent of roasting marshmallows, accompanied by the soft chirping of insects and visions of fireflies flickering like embers from a flame, reminds thousands of Americans of warm summer nights spent in the great outdoors. The forest has become a mere vacation spot for many, with nearly 50 million households reporting having camped at least once in the last year during the height of the pandemic (Kampgrounds). Humanity, while still wishing to be involved in our ecosystem through these excursions, has continued to forcefully claim the Earth since the dawn of the industrial revolution to form a society separate from the wilderness. This separation between humanity and the natural world instills a false sense of dominance into our psyches which one immediately loses upon entering the dense North American forests. The real horrors of the forest are not the ghost stories told around the campfire; they are the grisly consequences of negative interactions with wildlife. Between 2000 and 2015, nearly 200 bear attacks occurred in North America, a number that is currently on the rise (Penteriani). While this number is relatively small, the current trend of attacks and negative encounters is startling as more individuals than ever have begun showing interest in the wilderness. For the safety of humans and wildlife, campers must educate themselves on bear attack prevention to save their own life and spare the lives of these innocent creatures simply looking to protect or feed themselves and their young.
The assumption that individuals who spend more time in the wilderness, such as farmers or hunters, are more frequently attacked due to their constant proximity to wildlife is incorrect. Most attacked individuals globally had been participating in leisure activities such as camping, hiking, or foraging at the time of their encounter (Bombieri). The trend of leisure activities attracting the majority of negative bear encounters positively correlates with the current state of tourism. After the Covid-19 shutdowns, many American households became interested in the great outdoors. Nearly 50 million households reported having camped at least once during 2020, and about 85 million active camper households exist within the country (Kampgrounds). With a historically high record of novice campers flooding into National Parks as a result of travel restrictions being lifted, the risk of attacks occurring on a basis as frequently as in previous decades is heightened (McGivney). In 2022 alone, seven fatal bear attacks occurred in North America, with a similar reported rise in negative non-fatal bear encounters requiring the euthanization of the bear. While being listed as having made a significant recovery from the highly endangered status as reflected by the National Park Service, euthanization of these animals cannot begin to be favored over prevention efforts to preserve their status as ‘least concerned’ on the endangered species list (National Park Service).
Bears act as both an umbrella species and an indicator species in North America, which means that their mental and physical fitness levels are used to determine an ecosystem’s health due to how heavily involved the species is with several communities within the ecosystem. Additionally, bruins act as an excellent source of control for the rapidly expanding deer and moose populations, further reinforcing the notion that the animals are necessary within our national parks and ecosystem as a whole (Find’o). As of 2022, with 63 bears having been euthanized in Colorado alone, an explanation for why these animals have become acclimated to humans and how we can take strides to prevent these patterns from escalating further is rapidly becoming a necessary query to answer in order to preserve these essential omnivores (Meyer).
By reflecting upon one of the most gruesome cases of bear maulings in North America, the motivations of the attack can be used to educate novel campers and to be reflected upon in future conservation and attack prevention efforts. The incident, having been referred to as the Night of the Grizzlies” after a book of the same name was released by author Jack Olsen about the night, occurred within Glacier National Park in Alaska on August 13, 1967, when two unrelated grizzly bear attacks occurred in separate remote areas of the park. The attack resulted in one injury and two fatalities, both of 19-year-old women who had summer jobs in the park (Flathead Beacon). No bear attacks had occurred within Glacier National Park until the incident since the park’s founding in 1910, causing many to believe that the horrifying tale was simply a one-off event that could not have been prevented. However, warning signs for the night of terror had haunted the park for years before the attacks, with local chalet employees placing food scraps in unprotected trash cans nightly in the park to charge visitors with the viewing of a bear feeding or fight (Flathead Beacon). Less blatantly dangerous behaviors that lead to hazardous bear activity include the poor storage and disposal of food products, waste, and other scented items in conjunction with the overpopulation of the park (Idaho News). The late 1960s and early 1970s saw record numbers of park visitors; with numbers reaching nearly 50 million collectively by the end of the decade, while only 6 million had been reported attending all parks collectively in 1960 (National Park Service). This unprecedented 733% increase caused overpopulation issues within parks, a familiar tale compared to the modern era’s post-Covid tourism boom. It has been proposed that the leading cause for the attacks was the copious amounts of uncontained garbage the bears had become accustomed to feeding on through the reckless chalet workers and the abundance of these new campers who did not know how to store their food and waste properly. Similar attacks have occurred within the past decade in parks such as Yellowstone, the Great Smoky Mountains, Denali, and several other popular tourist locations. The root cause of garbage dependence is the thread that links each encounter (Goldfarb). By effectively conditioning the bears of a park to believe that people and their waste frequently provide them the opportunity for a high-calorie meal while possessing no risk to their safety, the animal quickly learns not to fear humans or their encampments. The significant intelligence of black and grizzly bear species allows these fear-lacking behaviors to be learned, meaning each incident of successful food access near humans serves as not only a learning opportunity for the bear acquiring the meal but for the rest of the animal’s social group, creating a contagion of dangerous behavior (Morgan).
Solutions to the issue of bear attacks come in the form of personal life changes and more systemic alterations. Prevention is critical; food, waste, and scented toiletries should be stored at least 300 feet from a campsite, especially when there is no access to bear-proof bags or containers (Wheeler). Visitors should also avoid setting up encampments in illegal sites or closed areas; often, as these closures are often due to reports of an animal demonstrating aggressive or fear-lacking behaviors in the vicinity of the site (Stolz). Additionally, carrying bear spray is necessary for safety and conservation efforts in bear territory. Bear spray is a 98% effective bear deterrent tool made of the respiratory inflaming agent oleoresin of capsaicin, also known simply as red chili oil (Alaska Department of Fish and Game). If an encounter occurs with either a grizzly or a black bear, it is crucial that visitors are equipped with bear spray to be dispersed when the animal approaches a campsite hungry for a meal. When spraying the bear, it is allowed to learn that humans are not to be interacted with; therefore, they are prevented from further testing their luck to gain access to food.
Sadly, some national parks have decided to restrict access to bear spray in black bear territories. Parks that are the most popular for single-visit tourists, such as Yosemite, have banned the substance due to inexperienced or overzealous tourists frequently spraying other animals, people accidentally, and somewhat comically, themselves due to a misunderstanding of the instructions on each can (Roy). The misconception that black bears, the only type found in these parks, are not dangerous only perpetuates the banning of the effective substance. Upon reflection of the single deadliest attack in North America to date, the 1978 stalking and mauling of three Canadian teenagers in Ontario by a food-conditioned wild black bear, it becomes evident that the potential hazards exist within both species (Sawyers). Whether bear spray or firearms are more effective in cases of bear defense has been proven in favor of bear spray (U.S Fish and Wildlife Service). However, within parks such as Yosemite, firearms are still legal for gun owners (The National Park Service). By allowing the false narrative that firearms are the most effective form of bear attack defense and prevention to perpetuate through policies such as these, the likelihood that bears will be wrongfully killed rises. In firearm-only parks, it is vital to continue taking non-firearm-based anti-bear precautions to preserve the population and protect other tourists from potential firearm mishaps.
While some significant systemic changes, such as fines for wildlife feedings up to $5,000 and bear-proof garbage disposal sites being added to every park in bear country, how these encounters are reflected in the public eye has yet to evolve significantly (L?e) (National Park Service). Frequently, attacks serve as anti-conservation sentiments for many Americans reading the oftentimes hyperbolized recounts of the encounters within the media (Gore). After the Night of the Grizzlies attack, grizzly bears became a targeted species by hunters and the park service. While the motive of these rangers was to execute the bears responsible for the attacks, at least one mother bear was wrongfully killed during this time of hysteria.
A similar incident involving mass bear hysteria with grave consequences occurred in Yellowstone National Park during the early to mid-1970s when a local dump which the bears often fed off, was shut down. It has been hypothesized that the sudden lack of access to the garbage they had become dependent on caused many animals to turn to the park in search of sustenance. Camper Harry Walker, who was residing in an illegal camping space on June 25, 1972, was mauled after having left food and waste outside of his site; this attack occurred mere weeks after an unnamed ranger had a dangerous encounter with a separate bear (Goldfarb). As stated by bear biologist, David Mattson, who has conducted extensive research on the killing of wild bears, there is no doubt that ?park rangers were killing bears willy-nilly,” with nearly 190 bears being fatally shot after the Walker mauling. It has been reported that the National Park Service chose the route of extermination over the recommendation of scientists like Mattson to wean the bears off of human garbage due to the potentially expensive and extensive process (Goldfarb). When attacks occur, it is vital to the health and conservation of the species that publishers and readers stay informed from credible sources about the motivations behind these attacks and how to stay safe in the wilderness. Without awareness, bruins will likely go extinct within the lower 48 states due to a lack of conservation interest and illegal hunting, habitat destruction, and deforestation efforts motivated by fear (Goldfarb).
The human relationship with bears has been evolving for over a century, and it has become apparent that our species must continue putting effort into preserving the wild beauty of these omnivores to better our ecosystem. By allowing these animals the opportunity to feast on human food waste, the chance for these fantastic beasts to live an authentically wild life to the best of their abilities becomes a difficult task. In the modern era, it is even more important to strictly follow the rules of the woods as food resources for wild bears continue to dwindle due to climate change, leading them to look towards the overpopulated camping grounds for trash (Goldfarb). Before the pandemic, human-bear relations were on the upturn due to the policies and education released in recent decades. It is necessary for these efforts for conservation to continue being cultivated with the introduction of a new, more significant generation of outdoor enthusiasts. By enjoying our natural world but staying conscientious of how we treat and respect their wild domain, it can be ensured that bears stay a welcome, wild part of our ecosystems for decades to come.
Author: Riley Ferguson, Class of 2026
Initially, I had began my writing process for the ENGL110 essay with an entirely different topic that I was researching from scratch. I had gone into the process of writing with large ambitions, taking a concept I had only theorized about and attempted to put in the research to prove my hypothesis. While I was unable to commit to this process, I found myself drawn away from the experimental nature of my initial hypothesis into one that was more applicable to modern day and easily represented in our current environment. Bear activity has been on the rise in the Northern Hemisphere and the main causes are anthropogenic climate change and direct human behaviors which are depicted in detail throughout my piece The Grizzly Truth”. Over the course of three weeks, I spent my time researching and editing the paper, spending hours in Morris Library on the third floor and edited time with my friends in The Nest late into the night on weekdays. I was passionate about educating the public on a topic I was not only deeply interested in, but believed that the topic at hand was necessary to be brought into a larger light. With more novice outdoorsmen and women braving the wilderness since the outdoor restrictions have been more or less lifted since the time of Covid-19, bear sightings and attacks are following suit in popularity. The Grizzly Truth” hopefully allows members of the public to reconsider their choices in the outdoors and better understand the magnitude of the consequences of feeding and interacting with wildlife. Remember, a fed bear is a dead bear- ecoactivists all love animals but we know that for their safety it is best to stay away. Stay safe out there, but never stop exploring!
Instructor: Joe Nash
My E110 course focuses primarily on cultivating each student’s own self-awareness through writing. This begins with a diagnostic essay due the second day of class, which I call an Observation Narrative. An idea borrowed from McKay Jenkins, the student must sit somewhere in “nature” for one hour, calmly and continuously writing down what they notice in their environment or in their thoughts in the present moment. Weekly “Habit Journals,” which pair brief meditation exercises with written self-reflections based on that week’s content and the student’s own goals, follow for a majority of the course. The Habit Journals provide a grade-incentivized structure for each student to focus and reflect on their own mental health, as well as their personal goals and, ultimately, their own true nature. The Research Essay, then, becomes the logical fruition of each student’s self-directed intellectual path. For this reason, every student paper I read is unique and vibrantly alive with an innate curiosity, ample evidence for which you will find in Riley’s outstanding essay.
Works Cited
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