BOZEMAN, Mont. — Federal officials have announced the first grizzly bear sighting in Yellowstone National Park this year after a pilot spotted the bear from above on Saturday.
Park officials said in a statement on Tuesday that the pilot, who was assisting with wildlife studies at the time, said the bear was interacting with wolves at a carcass in the northern end of the park.
Officials say the sighting is the first of the year, though tracks have been spotted several times over the past two weeks.
Last year, biologists reported the first sighting on March 7 near Grand Prismatic Spring.
Male grizzlies typically come out of hibernation in early March and females with cubs emerge in April or early May. When bears emerge from hibernation, they look for food and often feed on elk and bison that died over the winter.
Bears will sometimes react aggressively while feeding on carcasses, officials said.
"When bears first emerge from hibernation, they look for carcasses at lower elevations and spring vegetation in thermal meadows and south-facing slopes or nourishment," said Kerry Gunther, the park's bear management biologist.
Because all of Yellowstone is bear country, officials urge anyone visiting the national park to follow bear safety guidelines.
The park restricts certain visitor activities in locations where there is a high density of elk and bison carcasses and lots of bears. Restrictions began in some bear management areas on March 10.
