Bison, not buffalo. Edit: note this happened outside of YNP actually.
It's mating season for the bison. I'm kind of surprised about the grizzly, since bears are most aggressive during the spring. I hope more details come out.
Fun fact, there is a wilderness area on the southern border of Yellowstone NP called the Winegar Hole wilderness. It doesn't have many trails. Never go there because it is prime bear mating territory!
Yes, technically Buffalo is incorrect, but it's still used to refer to the animal. When someone says "buffalo in Yellowstone" it's easy to infer that they mean bison. It's like correcting someone for calling a fly a bug.
The hiker was believed to be alone during the encounter, and no bear spray or firearms were found at the scene.
In other words she wasn't following even the most basic, simple guidelines for hiking in the woods, let alone in a national park known for its wildlife.
Visitors should be required to sit for a half hour "common sense" information video before entering the parks.
The attack comes amid a rise in Montana’s grizzly bear population and an increase in sightings.
The department put out a news release last week warning visitors that staff had confirmed grizzly bear sightings throughout the state, “particularly in areas between the Northern Continental Divide and the Great Yellowstone ecosystems.”
Perhaps you are joking, perhaps not. But there is a saying: "A fed bear is a dead bear". It is really important that bears do not learn to recognize humans as a source of (other) foodstuffs. If they do, that greatly increases the risk of dangerous encounters and unfortunately leads to the need to kill the bear to remove the danger.
Because that is how it was communicated to the reporters, and editorializing would be irresponsible.
Though the department’s statement said the death appeared to have followed the woman’s interaction with the bear, it did not confirm her cause of death.