Paleontology Field Season Delayed After Bear Moves Into Excavation Site and Shows No Intention of Leaving

A planned six-week excavation of a promising ceratopsian bonefield in the Dinosaur Provincial Park badlands has been indefinitely postponed after a grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) claimed the dig site as its personal territory and has shown no inclination to vacate. The bear, a mature male estimated at approximately 300 kilograms, was discovered on the first day of the field season occupying a tarp-covered pit that the team had prepared the previous autumn. 'We arrived at 6 AM, set up base camp, hiked to the site, and there he was,' said field director Dr. Patricia Outcrop. 'Lying in the pit, on our tarp, using a roll of plaster bandages as a pillow. He looked very comfortable. We looked at each other. He did not move.' Subsequent attempts to encourage the bear's departure have been unsuccessful. Wildlife officers deployed noise deterrents, which the bear 'acknowledged with a brief head turn before resuming napping,' and attempted to lure it away with a food trail, which the bear followed for approximately 200 meters before returning to the pit. 'He likes the pit,' said wildlife officer Derek Gravel. 'It's sheltered from wind, partially shaded, and the excavation team had left a cache of granola bars in a supposedly bear-proof container that was, it turns out, not bear-proof.' The team has attempted to work around the bear by excavating peripheral areas of the bonefield, but the bear's 'zone of intimidation' — defined as the radius within which team members feel 'existentially uncomfortable' — extends approximately 150 meters in all directions, encompassing the entire site. Dr. Outcrop has applied for a field season extension. 'Ceratopsians waited 75 million years to be excavated,' she said. 'They can wait until this bear finds somewhere else to nap.'