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Woman banned 1 year, gets jail time for Yellowstone grizzly close encounter

Yellowstone-Grizzly Sentence
Posted at 4:27 PM, Oct 08, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-08 16:27:42-04

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — An Illinois woman has been sentenced to four days in jail and banned from Yellowstone National Park for approaching a grizzly bear and her two cubs.

According to the Associated Press, Samantha R. Dehring, 25, of Carol Stream, pleaded guilty Wednesday to willfully remaining, approaching, and photographing wildlife within 100 yards.

The AP reported that Dehring was also banned for a year from the park by U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark L. Carman in Mammoth Hot Springs.

The AP reported that she was being ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and $1,000 to a wildlife protection fund.

The incident occurred May 10 when the grizzly approached Dehring much closer than the football-field-length limit for people to advance bears and wolves in Yellowstone while she stood and took pictures.

The news outlet reported that the bear bluff-charged, running at her but turning away without attacking.