Glacier park officials to kill aggressive grizzly

KALISPELL, Mont. — Glacier National Park’s bear management team has decided to kill a 17-year-old female grizzly bear that has become overly familiar with people and relocate her yearling cubs to the Bronx Zoo in New York City. The decision was made after the three bears repeatedly entered backcountry campgrounds, knowing people were there. Rangers are searching for the bears. Glacier Superintendent Chas Cartwright says park officials have tried for years to keep the bear and her offspring in the wild, but they’ve determined that the bears pose an unacceptable threat to human health and safety. Jon Waller, the park’s carnivore biologist, says the fact that the bear has cubs and would defend them also figured in the decision. Waller called the decision “gut-wrenching,” but says the management team decided the risk to the public was too great.