TETON VILLAGE, Wyo. — A black bear and its cub were spotted this morning near Teton Village.
The sighting is another reminder that black bear, grizzly bear habitats and residential areas overlap across the valley. “All of Teton County is now in occupied grizzly bear habitat,” said C.J Adams in an April 18 press release from Grand Teton National Park.
Those recreating in the Jackson Hole area and Grand Teton National Park are urged to carry bear spray and know how to use it.
Wildlife officials continue to urge the community to secure all attractants to avoid bear-human conflicts. Attractants include food, trash, livestock feed, bird seed and compost, to name a few.
Come July 1, new land development regulations aimed at protecting wildlife from becoming habituated to food rewards in residential areas go into effect county-wide including the requirement of bear-proof trash cans.
According to the National Park Service, approximately fifty percent of adult male grizzly bears are awake by mid-March, and females with young usually emerge anytime between April and mid-May.
