Federal officials shot and killed a grizzly bear early Saturday near Yellowstone National Park after it fatally mauled a 70-year-old man last week.

The incident was the first fatal attack by a grizzly bear in the area in a quarter-century.

The adult male grizzly had been trapped and released into the area last Thursday by a U.S. Geological Survey crew from Bozeman, Mont. Researchers had fitted the bear with a radio collar before releasing it and posted signs warning hikers to avoid the area because of the potential for a dangerous bear encounter.

But Erwin Frank Evert, a botanist who owned a cabin nearby, disregarded those warnings in what proved to be a fatal mistake. Friends and wildlife officials said he knew the risks of entering the area, but he was interested in the work being done there.

After the attack, wildlife officials initially attempted to capture the bear but decided to pursue lethal methods once those attempts failed. Chris Servheen, grizzly bear coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said he authorized officials to kill the bear late Friday because experts could not determine the motivation behind the attack.

"We regret the whole idea of having to remove a bear, but we just wanted to be sure. I stand by that decision to remove him," Servheen said, adding that he and other agency officials agreed that "the best thing to do for the safety of the public is to remove the bear."

Wildlife officials located and shot the bear Saturday morning. Rapid DNA testing confirmed that it was the same bear involved in the attack (Ruffin Prevost, Billings Gazette, June 19). -- EG