Search-and-rescue teams found the body of a missing hiker in Montana’s Glacier National Park this week in injuries park officials say are consistent with a bear encounter. The remains were located about 2.5 miles up the Mt. Brown Trail, roughly 50 feet off the path, and the victim was identified by officials as 33-year-old Anthony Pollio of Fort Lauderdale. The section of trail has been closed while wildlife and law enforcement assess bear activity and investigate. The discovery would be Glacier’s first fatal bear-related death since 1998. Days earlier, two male hikers, aged 15 and 28, were seriously injured in a separate suspected grizzly attack on the Mystic Falls Trail near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park; both were airlifted for treatment and officials believe a mother grizzly with cubs was involved. Parks stress the incidents are rare but underscore ongoing human–bear conflicts in bear country, where managers report hundreds of grizzlies and roughly 1,000 bears in Glacier alone.

Japanese authorities confirmed the country’s first fatal bear attack of 2026 after a string of deadly encounters last year. A 55-year-old woman was found dead on April 21 in Iwate prefecture, the environment ministry said, and police told AFP two additional sets of human remains were discovered this week in Iwate and a forested area of Yamagata prefecture. Broadcaster NHK identified one of those found as 69-year-old Chiyoko Kumagai, who went missing while foraging for wild plants and had injuries consistent with animal claws. The incidents come after a record 13 fatal bear attacks in 2025 and widespread sightings — including animals entering supermarkets, resorts and schools — that prompted the government to deploy troops and step up removal efforts. A 2025 government report put brown bears at roughly 12,000 and Asian black bears at about 42,000; official data show more than 14,000 bears were culled between April 2025 and March 2026. Experts cite growing bear numbers, climate-driven food abundance, poor harvests and rural depopulation and land abandonment as drivers of bears expanding into settled areas. Local hunters and officials are increasing patrols in affected Tohoku areas as the animals emerge from hibernation.

A Alaska Superior Court judge on May 6 allowed state wildlife officers to resume shooting black and brown bears from helicopters as part of a controversial predator-control program aimed at restoring the Mulchatna caribou herd. Judge Adolf Zeman denied a request from the Alaska Wildlife Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity for an injunction while their lawsuit proceeds, saying plaintiffs had not shown the state acted without a reasonable basis. The program, authorized by the Alaska Board of Game and backed by the Department of Fish and Game, targets predators on calving grounds to boost vulnerable newborn calf survival. The herd once numbered about 190,000 in the late 1990s but fell to roughly 13,000 by 2019 and was estimated at about 16,280 last year; hunting has been closed since 2021. Conservation groups argue the program lacks required population monitoring and scientific support and note roughly 180 bears were killed in 2023–24 during prior operations. State attorneys contend removals coincide with signs of herd rebound and say officials took a “hard look” at bear numbers. The board’s plan would allow predator control through 2028; legal challenges and appeals are ongoing.

A lone male coyote that surprised visitors when it appeared on Alcatraz Island in January has been genetically linked to Angel Island, suggesting the animal swam roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) across San Francisco Bay to reach the former federal prison, U.S. park officials said. The animal was first recorded on Jan. 24; biologists later found fresh tracks and scat and deployed trail cameras and audio recorders but recorded no further sightings. DNA analysis by the UC Davis Mammalian Ecology and Conservation Unit matched the scat to a previously sampled Angel Island population, National Park Service wildlife ecologist Bill Merkle said in a May news release. Officials had planned to capture and relocate the coyote because Alcatraz is an important seabird nesting habitat, but there is no evidence the animal remained on the island and no remains were found. Experts say the swim likely reflected natural dispersal behavior — possibly seeking mates or territory — and underscored coyotes’ adaptability in the Bay Area.

A new Ulster Wildlife project launched in May 2026 is using lightweight GPS tags to monitor hedgehog movements across Northern Ireland to help safeguard the species. Selected male hedgehogs are being fitted, under licence from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, with temporary ‘backpack’ tags that stay in place for a few days before removal. Initial tracking shows animals moving through multiple gardens in a single night and crossing busy roads — behaviour consistent with UK studies that report nightly ranges up to about 3km. The scheme is supported by Power NI and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs via the carrier bag levy. Conservation Detection Dogs NI is training the first hedgehog-detection dog in Ireland to help locate animals and recover tags. Ulster Wildlife aims to tag several individuals before autumn hibernation and work with Nottingham Trent University on survey design. Data gathered will map garden use, road crossings, feeding and resting sites to inform local conservation actions such as creating ‘hedgehog highways’, wildlife corridors, reducing use of harmful pesticides and advocating for traffic calming in hotspots.

Park officials in Montana and Wyoming reported two separate bear encounters this week that have renewed scrutiny of human-wildlife conflict in US national parks. In Glacier National Park search-and-rescue crews found the remains of a 33-year-old hiker, identified by some outlets as Anthony Pollio of Fort Lauderdale, about 2.5 miles up the Mt. Brown Trail and roughly 50 feet off the path. The National Park Service said the victim’s injuries were “consistent with those sustained by a bear encounter,” and closed the trail while wildlife and law enforcement assess the area; Glacier has not recorded a fatal bear attack since 1998. Days earlier in Yellowstone National Park, two male hikers, ages 15 and 28, were seriously injured on the Mystic Falls Trail; park staff believe a female grizzly with two or three cubs was involved. Both were airlifted to hospital and nearby backcountry areas were closed pending investigation. Officials stressed that fatal and serious bear attacks remain uncommon but noted rising human-bear encounters as visitation, development near habitats and food attractants increase.