"Grizzly bears at Yellowstone National Park are emerging from winter hibernation weeks earlier than normal because of the arrival of spring-like weather, with warmer-than-usual temperatures and rain instead of snow, a park spokesman said on Tuesday.

Yellowstone on Monday confirmed the first report of a grizzly roaming the central part of the park, where it was seen scavenging on a bison carcass, according to spokesman Al Nash.

Nash said the emergence of grizzlies comes roughly a month earlier than in recent years, with the first sightings of the bears from 2012 to 2014 happening between March 4 and March 14."

Laura Zuckerman reports for Reuters February 10, 2015. [2]