On August 7, a body was found on a trail in Yellowstone National Park. It seems a man was hiking on a popular off-trail area when he came across a female bear and her cubs. What happened next isn’t clear, but it resulted in his death. Now, Yellowstone officials have captured a bear along with one of her cubs and are threatening to euthanize them if forensic tests point to the mother as the man’s attacker.

Please join me in calling on Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk to find an alternative to killing some of America’s most awe-inspiring creatures. We do need to ensure the public's safety in our national parks, but we also must understand that we are taking a risk when we leave our towns and cities and go into the wild. I don’t believe euthanizing this bear or her cubs is the answer.

On average, 3.5 million people visit Yellowstone a year. The bear population is estimated at between 600-800 within the greater Yellowstone ecosystem. And with all those bears and people coming into contact, there have been only eight bear fatalities in the past hundred years. Bears do not pose a threat to us, and we shouldn’t pose one to them. If an accident occurs, we must seek more humane solutions to future visitors’ safety than killing wild animals, who are only following their instincts on their own terrain.

Humans are just visitors to Yellowstone. These bears call it home. Let’s ask Yellowstone officials to do the right thing and protect its resident wildlife whenever possible.  Ask Dan Wenk to spare the grizzly bears’ lives and find an alternative to euthanization.