UTAH COUNTY, Utah — A couple of years ago, Tyler Tracy had his first visit from a black bear during his family’s annual trip to the Timpooneke Campground.
“Just tore up the trash, got into a little bit of the food,” he said “Nothing too major. Everything got thrashed a little but it was mostly a cool story once we realized that nothing and no one was actually hurt.”
He and his family members were worried they wouldn’t be able to do their annual trip this year because of a bear; after closing multiple campsites over the weekend, Division of Wildlife officers killed a bear in American Fork Canyon.
“We were really sad because I've been looking forward to this all year, like the rest of us were, and it's certainly a shame that the thing had to be put down,” said Tracy.
There are many steps you can take to protect yourself from black bears; the DWR recommends storing food or anything with a scent in a bear-safe container while camping, going with a group and making noise while hiking.
If you do encounter a bear stand your ground, dont run, lie down or play dead; always fight back.
“They have an amazing sense of smell, and even the young ones, they're curious or looking for food,” said Scott Root, DWR Outreach Manager. “It's not easy to survive, and so they follow their nose, and if they get rewarded in a campground, that's not good. Sometimes we'll haze the bear depending on the situation and if it decides, ‘No, I'm going to keep coming back,’ that's when it really starts getting into trouble.”
This particular bear the DWR killed Saturday was not showing any fear of humans, getting into food and dumpsters, and becoming a nuisance, said Root.
“It's trouble,” he said “It's high risk to public safety, and we had to euthanize that bear.”
With the bear now gone, Tracy and his family could come up to Timpooneke a day later than planned.
“There's the signs for this being bear country up everywhere,” he said. “We keep track of that. But if you mind your P's and Q's, it's not that much of a concern. So I'm not too worried.”
