Widow of Man Mauled by Grizzly Sues the Feds
By Rocky Thompson on October 31st, 2011
The widow of a man killed by a grizzly is suing the federal government for $5 million dollars. While most of these lawsuits can be easily dismissed, this one might actually have some merit. Federal biologists had trapped and tagged the bear about 7 miles from Yellowstone’s entrance. After adding the radio collar they took down all signage that there was a bear study being conducted in the area and left the tranquilized animal behind. While leaving the site they encountered the woman who expressed concern about where the bear had been left and her husband’s whereabouts. Returning to the site, they found the man mauled to death right under the tree where they’d hung bait to lure the bear in the first place.
The man who died was a well known botanist who’d recently published another botanical guide on the region around Yellowstone; he was very familiar with the territory. His wife said he had no idea bear studies were being conducted in the area, but friends say he knew and were baffled by his decision to hike up Kitty Creek during the study.
Tags: bear, national park, nps, yellowstone