Wyoming Stories: Ruth Michels remembers a Yellowstone bear encounter

A shortage of whitebark pine seeds could mean more human-bear interactions in western Wyoming this fall.


When whitebark pine seeds are plentiful, Yellowstone bears spend the fall gorging themselves on the fatty, protein-rich morsels, up in the high alpine. But not every year is good.


“It’s a boom-bust cycle, and there’s not always a high amount of pinecones available, so they just find other foods to eat,” says Wyoming Game and Fish Large Carnivore Supervisor Dan Thompson.