kerry gunther

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Yellowstone expert weighs in on who wins in a fight: grizzly or gorilla?

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Yellowstone National Park biologist Kerry Gunther weighs a bear cub during field research.

If you've ever wondered who would win in a fight—a grizzly bear or gorilla—one expert from Yellowstone National Park advises betting on the grizzly. That's just one of the fun exchanges from a discussion held Wednesday on Twitter where Kerry Gunther, who leads Yellowstone National Park’s bear management program, answered questions as part of an ongoing Ask a Scientist series. Gunther's Q&A was part of a series Yellowstone has hosted via Twitter allowing anyone to pose a question to some of the park's top biologists. Past sessions have featured Rick Wallen discussing bison and Doug Smith talking answering questions about wolves. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Wildlife, Yellowstone, gorlllas, grizzly bears, kerry gunther, twitter

Yellowstone manages people instead of grizzlies during bear jams

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Yellowstone visitors would pay an additional $41 to ensure seeing roadside grizzlies, a study shows, and the attraction creates 155 jobs and more than $10 million a year for the regional economy. The $41 visitors would pay is on top of the $25-per-vehicle entrance fee. If Yellowstone no longer allowed grizzly bears to use roadside habitat — and instead chased, moved or killed them — the regional economy would lose more than $10 million a year and 155 jobs according to the paper “The economics of roadside bear viewing.” Continue Reading →

Filed under: Grand Teton, News, Research, Science & Nature, Wildlife, Yellowstone, grizzly bears, kerry gunther

Yellowstone bear biologist debunks myth that menstruating women attract bears

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There is no evidence linking menstruation to any of the nine attacks on women in Yellowstone National Park since 1980. (USFWS photo - click to enlarge)

A report by a Yellowstone National Park bear specialist allaying misplaced concerns that menstruating women might be at greater risk of bear attack has been drawing headlines this month, perhaps as much for its unusual subject matter as for its findings. The report states that "there is no evidence that grizzly and black bears are overly attracted to menstrual odors more than any other odor." Continue Reading →

Filed under: Research, Science & Nature, Wildlife, Yellowstone, black bears, grizzly bears, kerry gunther, mesntruation