SUBLETTE COUNTY – A cinnamon-colored black bear spent a week rampaging through hikers’ backcountry camps and the Green River Lakes campground, even as people tried to eat their lunches.

After hearing a report on June 21 about a hiking group’s encounter several days earlier with the 3- to 4-year-old male bear, about 5 miles from the Green River Lakes trailhead, Wyoming Game and Fish large carnivore biologist Clint Atkinson.

The group said the bear had first ripped up their tent and sleeping bags while they were gone and when they returned for lunch, the bear came back and stole their food bag. Atkinson said he hiked in with dogs to try and find the food-conditioned bear without luck, so he warned campers to properly store their food and other “attractants” that include anything with an aroma.

Unafraid

On Thursday, June 23, the same bear appeared at the Green River Lakes campground and faced off a large group of at least 15 people who watched him score their coolers of human foods, according to Atkinson.

“This is a great example as to what happens when people recreating and camping in bear country fail to maintain clean camps,” he said on Tuesday. “Bears are very food intelligent animals and once they gain access to a human food reward, they will not stop seeking more. Bears can then become very bold toward people and start exhibiting dangerous behaviors.”

The bear spent the rest of the day roaming “both at the campground and in the backcountry, accessing other human food rewards along the way,” he said.

“No one was hurt; he was really dialed in on their food,” he said. Although several people said they had bear spray, Atkinson said to his knowledge no one used it.

Atkinson set a trap on June 24 and camped nearby through the weekend. The Forest Service put up signs recommending hard-sided camping during the conflict. The decision was being made to take the black bear out when it didn’t visit the trap, Atkinson said.

“Trapping is our preferred method for dealing with bear conflicts but we had to be flexible in this case for the sake of human safety,” he said. “Relocation was not an option for this bear due to how severely conditioned he was to human foods.”

On June 28, Atkinson encountered the bear and killed it in the field.

Bear aware

Atkinson advises campers and hikers, hunters and fishers, to be cautious with Wyoming home to both grizzlies and black bears. Grizzlies can be more aggressive, but as shown at Green River Lakes, black bears can be very dangerous.

“Please help keep bears wild while keeping yourself and others safe,” he said. “Be bear aware.”

• When recreating, camping, hiking or living in bear country, people need to properly secure attractants. Some campgrounds have installed metal bearproof storage boxes.
• Hang food or anything with an odor at least 10 feet high and 4 feet away from what it’s being hung from.
• Cook 100 yards from where you will be sleeping and do not store anything with an odor in your tent.
• Carry bear spray and know how to use it.
• For more about reducing conflicts with bears and other wildlife, visit https://wgfd.wyo.gov/bear-wise-wyoming.