Wyoming records 32 Yellowstone-area grizzly bear removals

A Wyoming report shows 59 Yellowstone-area grizzly bears were captured and 32 were euthanized last year, marking the state’s deadliest year on recent record for the animal.

The Jackson Hole News and Guide reports the Wyoming Game and Fish Department report published last week indicates last year had the second-highest number of captures on record, trailing 65 trappings in 2010.

Brian DeBolt, the department’s large carnivore conflict coordinator, says one reason for the high number of bear deaths is because the population is drifting away from the Yellowstone region’s core.

Of the 32 bears killed, 17 were captured outside the demographic monitoring area. One grizzly bear family was caught in Bighorn County, the farthest east the bears have been documented in recent years in the state.