National Park News
Details Emerge About Fatal Griz Attack on Hikers Inside Yellowstone
Woman attacked and ran for help while bear killed her husband on the Wapiti Lake trail.By New West Editor, 7-07-11
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| Grizzly bear inside Yellowstone National Park. Photo courtesy U.S. Fish & Wildlife. | |
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Following a fatal bear attack this week on hikers inside Yellowstone National Park, park officials were quick to point out it was the first such attack in 25 years. It happened on Wednesday morning, when a man and his wife about a mile and half in on the Wapiti Lake trail startled a sow and her cubs.
Park officials today released their identities: Fatally wounded was Brian Matayoshi, 57, of Torence, Calif. Also wounded was Marylyn Matayoshi.
It appears from the release put out by YNP that Brian Matayohsi tried to defend himself while his wife ran for help. According to the release, another group of hikers “heard the victim’s wife crying out for help, and used a cell phone to call 911.”
The couple saw the bear twice on their hike, according to Yellowstone spokesman Al Nash. The second time, the bear charged them and the couple ran, according to a press release. “The bear caught up with them, attacking Mr. Matayoshi. The beear then went over to Mrs. Matayoshi, who had fallen to the ground nearby. The bear bit her daypack, lifting her from the ground and then dropping her. She remained still and the bear left the area.”
It does not appear the couple carried bear mace.
According to the latest release, “Mr. Matayoshi received multiple bite and clawing injuries, and was dead when rangers arrived at the scene at approximately 11:30 a.m.”
Fatal maulings near Yellowstone have happened in the fairly recent past. Last July, a bear and her cubs attacked tent campers just outside the park at Soda Butte Campground near Cooke City, killing one man and injuring two others. Last June, a grizzly recently released after researchers tranquilized her and studied her killed a man investigating the research area off Yellowstone’s east entrance. That fatality has since prompted increased caution by researchers releasing trapped bears.
With the latest fatality, Yellowstone’s caution to backcountry users has also stepped up. Patrols have been clearing the area of all people and all trails and backcountry campsites in the area have been closed until further notice.
According to a story in the Christian Science Monitor, in the years since the last fatal grizzly attack in Yellowstone in 1986, the number of annual park visitors has grown by 50 percent to 3.6 million people.
According to CSM:
Meanwhile, since its listing as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1975, the bear’s protected status has helped its numbers recover from threatened extinction in this part of the United States. (There are about 30,000 grizzlies in Alaska, but the grizzly population in the lower 48 states – about 1,000-1,200 – is still much lower than the estimated historic high of 50,000 bears, when grizzlies roamed over much of North America.)
Yellowstone puts the griz population in and around the park at 600 and perhaps as high as 1,000.
The bear that attacked this week will likely be allowed to live as she has. According to park officials, “the initial investigation suggests the sow grizzly acted in a purely defensive nature to protect her cubs. This female bear is not tagged or collared, and does not apparently have a history of aggression or human interaction. Typically, the National Park Service does not trap, relocate or kill a bear under those circumstances. A Board of Review, which will include interagency experts, will be convened to review the incident.”
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Comments
The bear population......."is still much lower than the estimated historic high of 50,000 bears, when grizzlies roamed over much of North America"
Ya right, before Los Angelas and 300,000,000 people.
I don't think being a tourist is much of a threat to a bear. I'd expect a lot more of this kind of thing. Yellowstone might well turn into a great experiment into what happens when you don't control predator numbers and throw lots of tourists into the mix.
Then this-the man tried to defend himself while the wife ran for help. Running would cause the bear to attack,and a human can't outrun a grizzly.
Also-why were they not carrying bear spray?
Sounds like this was an avoidable tragedy,and could have been easily prevented by making noise while hiking,and carrying a can of pepper spray.
There has to be better education and possibly enforcement of the use of pepper spray. If you hike where grizzlies live, carry bear spray, it's just that simple.
The humans who follow them into back country areas probably stress them further, in addition back country campers have food smells blowing in the air, no matter how careful they. Those who use the back country for any period of time or camp then leave human waste with undigested food present, which can then cause the bears to associate humans and food.
It might be a good time to consider closing the back country entirely for a year or two or at a minimum make spray and the use of it mandatory to go off road.
Recent news:
Oregon passes landmark livestock compensation and wolf coexistence bill.
Summary: The Oregon Senate gave unanimous approval for a bill today that will put into place a comprehensive livestock compensation and wolf coexistence program.
Previously, Defenders of Wildlife covered livestock losses.
I have seen to many folks attach their spray and go strutting off like rambo. In bear country, every human carries there most important attribute between their ears. Their brain. Use it. That is the best advice I can give anyone heading into grizzly country. Listen and learn and use your best abilities to make sure a dangerous encounter does not occur and, if it should still happen, as it might to even the most careful, then know what actions are best required to diffuse the situation.
I've spent a good portion of my life in bear country studying about these amazing creatures and our interaction with them. There are many good tips that may come from this forum. Hell, I might even add a couple more. But, this is the most important. Bear spray does not replace your brain. In bear country be prepared and always use your brain.
Thanks
The grizzy bear was protecting its young and these hikers who were in the back country of Yellowstone should have had more sense to turn around when they saw the bear the first time. At least they should have known to carry pepper spray.
The loss of this man's life is tragic. Wolves haven't killed people but they are shot primarily because of politics.
I also wanted to compare the difference in how one species is killed for killing a cow and one is not killed for killing a human, although in this cae I am in agreement that the sow and her cubs shouldn't be killed. Man can be pretty ignorant sometimes. I agree with your statement that the best defense for a potential encounter with wildlife like this is between your ears.
Yellowstone is home to bears not tourists. Bears live there, tourists don't. This female grizzly had every right to defend her cubs.
Wrong. Yellowstone is home to people, lots of people are there all the time, including those of us who live nearby, and lots of tourists. And regarding a bear's right to defend her cubs (even if they're a quarter mile away), doesn't a human being have that right? I would gladly give up all the bears in Yellowstone to have saved Mrs. Matayoshi, and others, from the terror, horror, and grief that they must experience, of a depth we can only imagine, the cries of anguish, the sreams, knowing how your loved one suffered and in fear. Grizzly bears kill in a way that is far beyond merely defending their cubs. And if the policy is that we have a park with such bears, then this and other similar tragedies are the responsibility of those in government who promote bear policy, and extreme ideologues like Forever Wild. As long as there are Grizzly Bears where people are encouraged to visit, this will continue to happen. Forever Wild and those like you, hope this needless brutal killing of an innocent human being, and the intense pain it causes loved ones, makes you feel great about "keeping it wild." And Yellowstone isn't particularly wild anyway (with all those roads, buildings, parking lots, and black top camp sites, but I guess it's all worth it for your ideology.
Kate I lived and worked around Yellowstone for many years. Due to a broken down old body that carried too heavy a pack for too many years I have not been to the Park in years; however, when I was there the backcountry office did an excellent job with bear education. I think the difference is between day users and overnight users.
Backcountry use required a permit. In order to get that permit you had to sit thru a film and read info. and listen to the ranger. Probably similar to the BWCA only, maybe, even more intense. Trust me as an individual and an instructor/guide, I've sat thru it literally hundreds of times. The problem is how to better inform day users and, of course, to get backcountry overnight folks to use their brains and do their job correctly.
In the end, all Yellowstone folks can do is continue to monitor and modify their educational/informational programs and keep trying to get the word out. When I was there they did a fine job. And remember everybody, even if you do everything right sometimes hard things happen and there is no obvious reason why.
As Steve French used to say, "Long live the grizz" and, I would add, the good people who come to bear country with integrity and respect. We can and will learn to live together and give each other room to live. There is no other decent human/humane option.
Thanks
Your comments are the most sensible on this thread. I commend you. You are spot on.
I'll watch for your posts in future.
Again we have ever increasing predators and ever decreasing food (prey species) for them.
It is entirely possible to have too many predators in a specified area. The GYE cannot carry all of the predators that once roamed the entire country. Griz have been just out side of Lander, WY, and between the biggest two north western towns Powell and Cody. Two elementary schools in Park county Wyoming have had to have bear resistant fences built around them by parents of the kids.
The fact a bear and her cubs were so starving last year that they killed and ate a man just outside the border of the park in a developed campground. When the family was caught and the mother euthanized, all were severely underweight. The food supply is dwindling badly, and managing for maximum consumers of that food is nto very smart, I don't care how many research grants it provides.
I love bears and will never see all I want in my lifetime even though I go go YNP many times a year and have been to Katmai, but I know there is a finite number that can be supported, and in Yellowstone and the GYE they have to share with wolves primarily, but also black bears, and lions. We must start using common sense, and if that means closing the back country to give them some space, so be it.
Back on the point of the tragic accident Michael Bartley, I carry bear spray most of the time and I have also read several books on bear ([#1] Back Country Bear Basics", D.Smith) etiquette in bear country. One of his first rules is don't run. I hope I never need to put to practice any of them however. I'm just very aware of where I am and what could happen. My sympathy for Mrs.Maytayochi and the agencies need to hammer home the cautionary lessons. Please don't kill the big mama. No other furry mama is more formidable.
Funny thing about running, a great point you make is not to run. Long ago in the Tetons four of us were hiking along a forested heavy undergrowth beary kind of trail when, after passing two black bears earlier we came to a stop thinking almost smelling the presence of a grizzly bear. Long story short, we huddled and talked and quickly agreed on one thing, we stick together we don't run (okay maybe that's two but not really). Around the next bend, crack crash, and, I won't say who ran, but there I was all alone. Also, though rare, there may be times when running is the best thing to do. So, run fast.
Gulo thank you very much. Kind words can be rare these day. Wonder if we've know each other?
Todd, I hope that is not necessary. Hiking and living in wild country is a privilage that we must neve lose, after all, it is our home. You are right to recognize the tough choices we have to make in order to live well and share this good planet.
Hearts are broken. Their breaking makes a sort of earth drumming. We share the hard sorrow that comes with living. Eventually, all our hearts break. We share that. We share the sudden terrible loss of Mr. Matayoshi and hope for the best for his wife and all those whose hearts lay on the ground. We share because we must. We cannot avoid this echo shuddering through our lives. We share it. A female bear with cubs walks upon this earth. Their feet quietly add to the persistant drumming.
Thanks
After reading all of your comments I believe you have the most intelligent information regarding grizzly bears. All of us on this blog
seem to have some experience with bear encounters or at least awareness of the dangers and what to do and what not to do if we encounter a bear. There is a difference between an encounter with a bear and an encounter with a mountain lion. Those of us with knowledge and experience don't get into problems with wildlife. It's the millions of people that go to Yellowstone that think they are in a zoo and get gored or mauled because they aren't aware of the dangers when they encounter these beautiful wild animals. The logistics of having everyone see a video before entering the park are practically impossible. The pamphlet that's handed out when we enter the park most likely isn't read other than for the map. So what is the answer to getting people who day hike or overnight in the back country more informed on encounters with grizzly bears?
Jeanne, thanks I appreciate your compliment; however, I think there have been quite a few good comments here. I’ve been hoping that you and the others would continue to share your knowledge, ideas, stories, etc. It would be great if others would join us. These forums on the net have the potential for genuine community with all that entails. Sadly, here at New West and all over the net they often turn into political mud fights hijacked by extremists and dominated by folks using anonymity as their shield. I find it incredibly frustrating. This particular story with all of its ramifications for humans and bears, wildlife and wildlands seems to be the kind of story that should give us all pause and bring out the thoughtful and dignified part of our collective humanity. I thank the people here who have tried to express themselves honorably. These forums can be tough. Like emails our thoughts in this black and white environment can easily be misconstrued and misunderstood. I know I sound much more serious and dour than I am in “real’ life. I hope I don’t come across as a know-it-all jackass. I am neither.
As for your point on education and information, I think I’ve already expressed my high regard for the backcountry office folks who, due to permit requirements, get to educate overnight backcountry users. But, agree with you that this leaves out a whole lot of other folks. How to reach them and for that matter how to actually get the people you do contact to pay attention is the million dollar question. Perhaps, others have some thoughts to share here.
Thanks
Michael again speaks truth when he says the problem is how to get the people you contact to actually pay attention. I've taught a lot of classes on how to minimize conflicts with wildlife and I always have a few folks who tell me they'll just "trust to their .44" Others are amazed that wild animals are wild, unpredictable, and act according to their own muses. Most of these folks are more upset that they might be inconvenienced by having to take action to avoid a potential encounter than that they might cause the death of an animal (or another human).
I remember one guy who told me about meeting a brown-phase black bear in the North Cascades and how incensed he was that this large male bear "kept coming right down the trail like he owned it." I pointed out that, since the bear weighed several hundred pounds more than the hiker, he pretty much did.
Whereupon the hiker retorted "I'm not getting off the trail for some BEAR!" (He eventually did, as the bear seemed to have the same view and he was a LOT bigger, but not until the bear was clearly danger close and making very steady eye contact.)
After that I decided there are just some folks who are determined to learn with their foreheads. A primate's only real weapon is their brain but we can't force people to use it. However, we should at least make the information available so they can make an informed choice. I don't think we are doing that currently.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not inferring this man did anything wrong. I wasn't there, don't know what happened.
I'm sorry this man died. I'm glad this bear lived. But I would be much happier if the incident had been avoided and both lived long and prosperous lives.
This was a bear. Next time maybe a bison. Or a mountain goat. Or an elk.
We know how to minimize these incidents. We just aren't sharing the information very well. That's the erally sad part.
In addition to the obligatory bear spray brochures, how about something on You tube or facebook? Anything else? I'm not tech savvy, but a lot of people are, especially youngsters. I don't know the best way to reach them, but I do think there's got to be a better way than a boring 8-panel bear spray brochure filled with superflous information.
I don't see how Yellowstone can possibly hope to instill any respect for bears and other wildlife when park roads are managed like an open zoo. You drive through the park and it's a circus with people herders in uniform shouting at the crowds to keep away from the animals. Most folks think the wildlife is tame. Take away the people herders, cut folks loose in the backcountry for day hikes, and of course you're going to have trouble.