OUTDOORS + RECREATION

Grand Teton National Park reports first grizzly bear sighting of 2022

GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — The Grand Teton National Park reported its first grizzly bear sighting of 2022 on Sunday.

The Park is reminding visitors and local communities to be mindful of bears by securing attractants. 

Grizzly bear sighting

“Bear season has begun, how it ends depends on all of us,” said Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Chip Jenkins in a press release. “We welcome the community led effort to work across boundaries to protect bears in Jackson Hole, and we need everyone’s help to remove unsecured attractants from the valley.”

Visitors and local communities can take the following actions to prevent attracting bears.

• Store all garbage within bear-resistant containers.
• Keep livestock feed, pet food, compost, and beehives in secured areas.
• Hang birdfeeders in a way that makes them inaccessible to bears, if you feed birds.
• Help your neighbors create a bear-wise community to protect wildlife.

Measures to stay safe

Park officials say that bears, both grizzly and black, can be found anywhere within the park at any time. The park officials also ask anyone who visits the park to follow the following guidelines.

• Be alert. Watch for bears and fresh tracks.
• Make noise in areas with limited visibility or when sound is muffled.
• Make sure you carry bear spray, know how to use it, and have easy access to it.
• Explore the park in groups of three or more people.
• If you encounter a bear, back away slowly, do not run.

Park officials also remind visitors that Federal Regulations require individuals to stay at least 100 yards away from bears and wolves. It is also required individuals stay 25 yards away from all other wildlife.

For additional information on bear safety, visit here.

Read more:

• Bear-proof your camping food and save lives (yours and the bears’)

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