EPHRAIM, Utah — There have been at least five encounters over the past week in Utah, and leading state biologists are looking at what’s changing their behavior.
Campers stopped by in Ephraim on July 28 when one such wayward bear was captured in the town.
Bears were then spotted at three different Utah County campgrounds. According to camp host Michelle Dansie, no bears were spotted in the Hope Campground all season until then.
When some of her guests had gone further up Khyv Peak Road for a scenic drive on July 31, they returned to find that their tent had been torn into.
That led the campground to be evacuated as the Division of Wildlife Resources tracked the bear down.
DWR Game Mammals Coordinator Chad Wilson believes the drought is a contributing factor to the increase in bear encounters.
The bear captured in Provo Canyon was euthanized because it had become habituated.
“If they’re coming and getting human food - a lot of times…our option is to euthanize them. But it’s something we don’t want to do, right?" Said Wilson.
That leaves hosts like Dansie concerned for both her guests and the wildlife.
“I worry about the bears not being able to find what they need up above," said Dansie. “This is their home. We should do everything in our power not to jeopardize their life - as well as our own.”
So Wilson stresses the importance of bear awareness.
“I think in Utah, there’s sometimes a mindset that we don’t have a lot of bears or there aren’t bears in certain areas. The more we can do as people to clean up after ourselves, to keep our food secured, the less conflict we’re going to have with bears," said Wilson.
