Bear sightings nearly double in 2024
Oct 7, 2024, 7:00 PM | Updated: 7:51 pm
This undated photograph provided by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources shows a black bear. Wildlife officials say reports of bear sightings nearly doubled from last year. (Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, via AP)
(Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, via AP)
SALT LAKE CITY — Calls about bear sightings almost doubled this summer from last year. Last year the Division of Wildlife Resources got 50 reports of bear sightings. This year, there have been 90.
From the bear that was spotted in Salt Lake City to the three bears euthanized in a two week span this summer, Utah’s bears have been making headlines this year.
Division of Wildlife Resources Game Mammals Program Coordinator, Darren DeBloois says a low-producing mountain berry crop is causing bears to forage for food more than usual.
“Those crops got frozen early in the spring,” Debloois said. “And so they weren’t coming on for bears to eat. And so what that does is it causes bears just to move more.”
This makes campsites the perfect target for hungry bears. DeBloois recommends being prepared with bear spray and storing everything in bear-proof containers.
DeBloois says most of the calls did not involve actual confrontations. But we’re not out of the woods yet.
With hunters heading into the woods, it’s important to keep campsites clean, food locked up, and bear spray on-hand. Sometimes hunters can run into conflicts with bears while they are packing out their meat, so hunters should be cautious with their kills.
The DWR says we only have a few weeks until bears begin to hibernate, but this is the time they eat as much food as they can.
“People don’t need to panic,” DeBloois said. “But they should plan accordingly and just make sure they’re keeping their campsites clean.”
Related: Do you know what to do if you encounter a bear?
