WEST YELLOWSTONE — Buttermilk Trail right outside of West Yellowstone remains blocked off due to a woman who was attacked and killed by a grizzly bear just over a week ago. With bears being such a large part of the Yellowstone ecosystem, it's always important to remember how to be bear aware.
48-year-old Amie Adamson was running on Buttermilk Trail outside of West Yellowstone in the early morning hours of July 22 when she was mauled by a grizzly bear. Her body was discovered by another hiker. A reminder, according to Wildlife Biologist Randy Scarlett, is that healthy grizzly bears do not eat humans and the attack was defensive.
“It appears, based on the initial investigation, that it was a surprise encounter and that it was a defensive bear," says Scarlett. "It was a female with Cubs.”
Scarlett says bear traps were placed around the trail, but as of Monday morning, officials decided to pull the traps because the bear was not lingering in the area. The trail, however, still remains closed.
“There is a lot of use there and it's really great bear habitat. It's very moist, a lot of diverse food resources, things like that. So there are quite a few bears in that area,” says Scarlett. “People have had encounters with bears on that trail. It is a popular trail with ATVs and motorcycles, trail runners, hikers.”
Tut Fuentevilla, Education Department Curator at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, emphasizes the importance of being aware of your surroundings when recreating in bear territory.
Fuentevilla says, “The more we're encroaching on their area, then the fewer options that animal might feel like it has to respond to us. That can add stress to the animal, and the more stress, the more defensive an animal is.”
Fuentevilla says you should always carry bear spray in the woods, and know what times of day you’ll see the most bear activity, especially in the summer.
“They're most likely to be active and tend to concentrate their activity early morning and late evening when it's cool," says Fuentevilla. "Now, unfortunately, if we're looking to go out and recreate, a lot of times we want to do the same thing. But, in this area we should just be aware that that does mean that there is a greater risk of encountering wildlife at those early morning and late evening hours.”
Scarlett says the Buttermilk Trail area is expected to reopen in the near future, but officials still urge the public to be vigilant in the area after the closure is lifted.
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