Bear euthanized after being spotted in Ogden mall parking lot
by Kennedy Camarena ksl · KSL.comKEY TAKEAWAYS
- A bear in Ogden's Newgate Mall parking lot was euthanized on Sept. 22.
- The bear had been relocated from Kamas earlier due to repeated urban entries.
OGDEN — A bear spotted in Ogden's Newgate Mall parking lot on Saturday has been euthanized, as fall begins and the number of Utah's bear sightings continue to grow.
Ogden City Police Department officers reported the black bear to a Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement officer after it was found in the parking lot on Saturday, according to Utah Division of Wildlife Resources spokeswoman Faith Jolley.
DWR biologists responded to the mall at 7:50 a.m. and tranquilized the bear by 8:23 a.m., Jolley said.
"Upon securing the bear, biologists confirmed that it had previously been captured and relocated from Kamas earlier in the week (on Sept. 22)," she added. "Due to the bear repeatedly entering populated areas, the decision was made to humanely euthanize the bear, in accordance with division policy."
It's likely Utahns will continue to see bears in places where they aren't usually seen, due to past warm weather and hard freezes impacting plants, which pushes bears into lower elevations and into neighborhoods across the state as they search for food, according to Jolley.
As the number of bear sightings continues to grow, Jolley said safety is the first priority for DWR.
"Residents can help black bears in Utah by making sure to keep a clean camp and bear-proofing your food and garbage, as well as not leaving out trash cans if you live in the foothills or canyons," Jolley said.
Need-to-know bear encounter knowledge:
"If a black bear attacks, always fight back," Jolley said. "And never give up! People have successfully defended themselves with almost anything: rocks, sticks, backpacks, water bottles and even their hands and feet."
She provided other best practices to keep in mind:
- Stand your ground: Never back up, lie down or play dead. Stay calm and give the bear a chance to leave. Prepare to use your bear spray or another deterrent.
- Don't run away or climb a tree. Black bears are excellent climbers and can run up to 35 mph — you cannot outclimb or outrun them.
- Know bear behavior. If a bear stands up, grunts, moans or makes other sounds, it's not being aggressive. These are the ways a bear gets a better look or smell and expresses its interest.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.