Yellowstone Park Foundation Launches Campaign to Protect Bears and Save Lives

/PRNewswire/ -- A fed bear is a dead bear. Most people who live in bear country have heard this clever saying. Some -- like Kerry Gunther, a bear management biologist for Yellowstone National Park -- know first-hand that this warning is all too true.

"Bears that obtain human food eventually become more aggressive toward humans, and may need to be removed from the population," explained Gunther. "Almost every year for the past few years, it has been necessary for a bear in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem to be euthanized for this reason. It's the toughest part of this job."

Wildlife managers know that access to human food is the greatest risk faced by wild bears. Fortunately, there is a solution. The use of large, bear-proof storage containers, or "bear boxes," is a proven method of preventing bears from becoming conditioned to human food.

The problem is that less than 25 percent of campsites in Yellowstone's roadside campgrounds -- the most likely place for a bear to seek and obtain food -- currently have bear boxes.

To address this problem, the Yellowstone Park Foundation -- the official fundraising partner of Yellowstone National Park -- is offering the public a unique opportunity to Sponsor a Bear Box. For each $1,000 in contributions raised by the Foundation, Yellowstone will purchase and install a bear box in a Park campground.

Yellowstone Park Foundation President Paul Zambernardi says that the goal is to purchase 50 bear boxes to place in top-priority campgrounds. "So far this summer, we've received enough contributions for the Park to install the first ten boxes, but many more are needed to have a significant impact," said Zambernardi.

The first group of sponsored bear boxes was installed last week at Bridge Bay Campground, within prime grizzly habitat along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. The campground's volunteer hosts Diane Browne and Andy Anderson understand the critical need for bear boxes, so much so that they sponsored a box themselves.

"As part of our hosting duties, we need to survey the campground several times each day to make sure that no unsecured food is around to tempt bears and other wildlife," said Diane. "These boxes will make it easier for campers to comply with food storage regulations, keeping them safer as well as the bears."

While donations of any amount are encouraged, groups or individuals who fully sponsor a box will be recognized with a small plaque that is permanently affixed to the box. Learn more at www.ypf.org/bearbox

The nonprofit Yellowstone Park Foundation has been the official fundraising partner of Yellowstone National Park since 1996. It funds projects and programs that protect, preserve, and enhance Yellowstone. Learn more at www.ypf.org.

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Animal Planet Follows the Wildlife of America's Most Extraordinary Wilderness in Breathtaking New Documentary YELLOWSTONE: BATTLE FOR LIFE

/PRNewswire/ -- Yellowstone National Park is a place of changing, but never-ending, beauty. From the delicate flowers that bloom in spring to the saturated colors of autumn and even to the barren sublimity of winter, its picturesque landscape has made it a world icon. Ironically, one of the most beautiful backdrops in the world has one of the harshest environments, making life a constant struggle for the wildlife that roam its mountains, grasslands, rivers and valleys. Over 640,000 years ago, a massive supervolcano, which lies just beneath the surface of Yellowstone, was the source of a cataclysmic eruption, covering half the U.S. in debris and ash. The lasting effect of that volcanic blast is the extreme and unpredictable weather that plagues Yellowstone to this day. Yet, despite its brutality, the park is home to countless wildlife, including such symbols of the American west as the grey wolf, buffalo, elk, and grizzly bear.

Premiering Sunday, March 22, at 8 PM (ET/PT), Animal Planet's new documentary YELLOWSTONE: BATTLE FOR LIFE captures the essence of this bitter and mercurial environment as it follows the animals that struggle for life in the midst of this treasured wilderness. Filmed over the course of a year, the documentary explores how, by virtue of pure instinct, the creatures of Yellowstone find food, protect their young, reproduce and survive the severe winters and everyday struggles of our most famous national park. Both a documentary and a work of art, YELLOWSTONE tells the story of these hardy animals and simultaneously illustrates the beauty of this American landscape in amazing HD.

"YELLOWSTONE exemplifies Animal Planet's unfaltering dedication to truly beautiful natural history television," says Marjorie Kaplan, president and general manager of Animal Planet. "This gorgeous special celebrates life and survival as it pays homage to an iconic American landscape."

Buried between the peaks of the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone National Park is an American gem. However, what makes Yellowstone so unique is also what makes it so dangerous; the park is the biggest geothermal area on Earth with forces of unimaginable power controlling its future from just below its surface. The effect of Yellowstone's last volcanic blast is a crater so big that it controls the weather of the park even today, acting as a giant funnel as it brings cold air and precipitation into the park's valleys. Due to the crater's presence, Yellowstone's temperatures can vary from 99 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to -66 degrees in the winter with a range of 10 to 80 inches of precipitation every year.

Throughout YELLOWSTONE: BATTLE FOR LIFE viewers will find a new appreciation for the animals that struggle to survive this extreme weather. Cameras follow a plethora of creatures, both on land and underwater, as their lives are constantly imperiled by the very land they inhabit; a land that could unleash destruction at any moment.

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