On Sunday morning, tourists in Yellowstone National Park witnessed an attack by an adult female grizzly bear on her subadult male offspring.
That was swiftly followed by a more savage attack by a 500-pound male grizzly bear that had been hoping to mate with the female bear. The 148-pound, 3-year-old subadult sustained serious wounds and was later euthanized by park staff.
It appeared to have been a natural event. Adult male grizzly bears that are trying to mate will attack and sometimes kill cubs or smaller male bears. It could be that the female bear’s initial attack was an attempt to persuade the subadult to flee the danger zone.
