Bear Can't Escape Long Arm of Law as Utah Police Chase Down Animal
By Brooke Baitinger
Source Belleville News-Democrat
What to know
- A black bear was spotted roaming for food near an apartment complex pool in Heber City, crossing a busy highway when police approached it.
- Officers and wildlife officials tracked and tranquilized the bear after it climbed a tree, and it was later released back into the mountains.
- Wildlife officials emphasized that black bears are common in Utah’s mountainous areas and often scavenge human food, especially in spring after emerging from hibernation.
A bear led officers on a chase through a crowded Utah town and across a highway, officials said.
It was first spotted in the pool area of an apartment complex, the Heber City Police Department said in a May 25 post on Facebook.
When officers approached, it ran off across a highway and was eventually spotted at a gas station and later another apartment complex, the department said in the post.
“It was just walking around, sniffing around people’s trash cans, dumpsters trying to find food,” Elizabeth Newton told KSTU. Newton works at the On the Run gas station where the bear was spotted, the news outlet reported.
Officers then chased the bear into a tree around 1 a.m., where officials with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources tranquilized and captured it.
Wildlife officials held the bear overnight to assess its condition, then released it back into the mountains the next evening, a spokesperson told McClatchy News.
Photos show the bear after it was captured, and a video shows its release back into the wild.
“Bears can be found all throughout Utah — except for the West Desert — typically in mountainous areas. They are commonly found in foothills and canyons,” the agency said.
Black bears usually emerge from hibernation in March or April, depending on how snowy it is, officials said.
“During the spring, plants and insects make up 90% of a black bear’s diet, but they have an amazing sense of smell and will eat the same type of food that people eat if it’s easily accessible,” the agency said. “Many of the conflicts between people and bears happen because the bears start scavenging for the food that humans are eating and cooking while camping — which often takes place in the bear’s natural habitat.”
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