What Happens to the "Lucky" Problem Bears?

Mr. Hancock

One of the questions our team will explore in Yellowstone is how humans and bears can share the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem safely. Bears are wild animals and have the potential to be dangerous. We will learn how the Park Service has come to understand that in order to keep humans safe, humans must let bears search for their own food in the wild because if bears get used to human food they may become nuisance bears. Some bears who get used to human food even become aggressive and threatening in order to obtain more human food. Unfortunately, it is often the bear who suffers the consequence. "A fed bear is a dead bear." So educating park visitors is very important. 

The Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center is another group who is trying to make sure humans understand how important their own behavior is to their safety and the bear's. It is an AZA accredited Not-for-Profit, wildlife park and educational facility whose primary mission is to provide visitors to the Yellowstone area an opportunity to observe, understand and appreciate grizzly bears and gray wolves. http://www.grizzlydiscoveryctr.com/

Some lucky "problem" bears get to live out their lives in the center. The bears at the Grizzly & Wolf Discovery Center had to be removed from the wild because they were becoming dangerously comfortable around humans. Their stories help share a valuable lesson of how people can take the proper steps to ensure bears stay forever wild.