Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
We're working to fix a technical issue causing problems with our broadcasts. We'll have it resolved as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Yellowstone To Drivers: Honk If Approached By A Bear

Grizzly bear at Swan Lake Flats in Yellowstone National Park.
Jim Peaco (PD)
/
National Park Service
Grizzly bear at Swan Lake Flats in Yellowstone National Park.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Yellowstone National Park administrators are telling visitors to honk their horn and drive away if a bear approaches and touches their vehicle after two cases of bears approaching cars.

Park spokeswoman Morgan Warthin said Tuesday that a grizzly bear near Yellowstone Lake came up to a car and started playing with its antenna in late May. Also in May, Warthin says, a black bear previously fed by people in the Mammoth Hot Springs area approached a vehicle, put its paws on a door and looked into the vehicle's windows.

Bears that get accustomed to people and view humans as a food source can become a public safety threat and are sometimes killed as a precaution.

Warthin says honking a car horn helps discourage such behavior.

Become a sustaining member for as low as $5/month
Make an annual or one-time donation to support MTPR
Pay an existing pledge or update your payment information
Related Content