Drought prompts Grand Teton grizzlies to leave park

One of Grand Teton National Park’s celebrity grizzlies wandered just outside the park’s southern boundary last week, possibly in search of food due to the drought.

The Jackson Hole Daily reported Wednesday that the grizzly sow known as 610 and her three cubs were hazed back to the park with “cracker shells”, a sort of flying firecracker.

The park’s senior wildlife biologist, Steve Cain, said there isn’t a lot of food available and she may have been looking for food.

Both Cain and state bear management specialist Mike Boyce say it wasn’t safe to allow a bear so accustomed to humans to remain in an area near homes.

Bear 610 is the daughter of bear 399. Both are famous for frequent roadside appearances in the park, attracting the attention of visitors.
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Information from: Jackson Hole (Wyo.) News And Guide, http://www.jhnewsandguide.com