SALT LAKE CITY, Ut. — If you've spotted more black bears than normal this year, your eyes aren't lying.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR) says it has responded to double the number of black bear incidents so far in 2026 over a year ago.
Thus far in 2026, DWR reports 168 bear issues, up from 83 at this time in 2025.
DWR cites several factors for the increased incidents, including warmer spring weather, followed by several hard freezes, and extreme heat and drought conditions. As a result, plants such as berries, acorns, and other root-like vegetation that make up 90 percent of a black bear's diet were negatively impacted.
“The weather this year has unfortunately had huge impacts on the normal food supply for bears, and they are scavenging in unusual areas," said DWR Game Mammals Coordinator Chad Wilson. "The likelihood of seeing a bear in places you wouldn’t think they would be is dramatically higher this year. Unfortunately, their search for food has created some conflicts in some of these areas.”
Overall black bear populations aren't quite known, so DWR biologists use models based on harvest data to provide estimates. Those trends suggest there are currently more bears in Utah than 30 years ago.
Utah is just one of multiple states dealing with an influx. Colorado has experienced record numbers, while someone in New Mexico was recently killed by a black bear.
Although bears do naturally pose some danger, they're not generally known to target humans.
“Even though they’re incredibly strong and surprisingly fast, black bears will typically do everything they can to avoid people,” Wilson said. “When a bear finds food, though, that can all change. A bear may become aggressive toward animals or people it perceives as threatening the area where it found the food.”
So why not just relocate the bears once captured, you may ask? Apparently it's not always that easy.
"In May, a black bear migrated into Park City. DWR biologists responded, captured the bear and relocated it to the Avintaquin Mountain area," DWR said. "In August, that same bear migrated into the Vivian Park community in Provo Canyon.
In the meantime, DWR is asking Utahns to not feed the bears and to remove any items that may attract them.
