PARK CITY, Utah — The Park City Police Department has received two reports of bear sightings in the last 24 hours.
The sightings come days after another black bear was removed and relocated from Salt Lake City limits for the first time ever.
"It was just kind of loping its way up the side of the mountain and not caring a thing about me, going away from me," said Doyle Damron.
Damron spotted a bear on Sunday making its way up the mountain near the Daly Trail.
Lt. Jay Randall said they're still determining if there were two sightings of the same bear or if there are two bears.
"As soon as we get another sighting that we can actually substantiate for sure, then we'll try to get a geographic location and [DWR] can maybe come and trap and relocate the bear," he said.
The sightings don't scare hiker Maria Guarnieri, who carries bear spray with her.
"You don't want to spray it up in the air, you actually want to spray it down at the ground cause usually that's where the bears are at," she said. "And it takes a little while for it to traject up."
Black bears are the only species here in Utah.
"There's also a misnomer, too, with black bears," said Guarnieri. "They're not all black. There's brown black bears, there's cinnamon black bears."
"That's definitely what this one was. Kind of a cinnamon color to it," said Damron.
Damron said he's lived in Park City for 16 years and this was his first time seeing one.
"Now everybody is definitely walking the dogs a little more carefully," he said.
If you do come across a black bear, experts advise you to stand your ground. Do not back up, lie down, or play dead. If it attacks, fight back.
Do not try to outrun a bear or climb a tree. They can run up to 35 miles per hour.
