UPDATE
Amy Bartlett, spokeswoman for Yellowstone National Park: “The park did not dispose of a bison carcass near the site of the attack.”
INITIAL POST
The public affairs office at Yellowstone National Park is being inundated by requests for information from the media, according to the National Park Service. I sent an e-mail earlier Wednesday morning, and tried to contact YNP public affairs contacts over the phone. The voicemail was filled up, and even when I tried to dial zero- there was nowhere for my call to go.
The reason? Well, this story by the U K Telegraph is now getting global attention by The Drudge Report and others: Mother grizzly bear and her cubs may face death if DNA test proves she killed hiker
For background, the reason I was following up with Yellowstone National Park officials, is due to a call we received live on the air on Voices of Montana Wednesday morning. The Livingston caller said rumors were swirling that park officials had disposed of a bison carcass near where the hiker was killed by the grizzly. (I want to stress that this has not been confirmed, so that is why I have been trying to reach out to park officials.**SEE UPDATED NOTE ABOVE)
According to this excerpt from the UK Telegraph, I imagine folks with the National Park Service are a little worried they could get the Cecil’s Dentist treatment:
“This is not something the park takes lightly,” said Amy Bartlett, a spokeswoman for Yellowstone. “Nobody wants to have to kill a bear but it’s a fine balance between public safety and preserving resources.”
The park has been inundated with calls and Facebook messages protesting against killing the mother. “We’ve been getting lots of calls from people who are lobbying for the bear,” Ms Bartlett said.
“Are we now going to kill every animal that kills even if it is in its own habitat?” asked Barbara Gallagher on the park’s Facebook page. “Will we be killing every shark that kills someone because they happen to be swimming where the sharks are?”
Photo of another grizzly courtesy Yellowstone National Park Instagram page