How shocked would you be to see a black bear in your yard or on your street? Well a group of residents in Naples along 4500 South can tell you after a bear popped in for a stroll on Friday. The Division of Wildlife Resources responded and were able to tranquilize the bear and give it a free ride back to the wild. DWR Northeastern Regional Outreach Manager Tonya Kieffer-Selby shares that when a bear is spotted in and around cities, wildlife officers assess how close the bear is to people, what the bear is doing, the age of the bear and when it is in town, it’s usually tranquilized, given a health assessment, and determined what it ranks for risk to public safety. This one received ear tags and was released back into the wild. “They are coming out of hibernation and the locations that normally have food may still have snowpack or not enough vegetation or food available yet so they are hungry and looking for what they can find,” explains Selby. While the occurrence of a black bear making its way into town is rare, it does occasionally happen. To learn more about black bears in Utah and how to prevent conflicts with bears, visit www.WildAwareUtah.org/wildlife/bears.
