We wrote earlier about the bear that outsmarted Utah rangers and kept a campground closed for weeks. That smart bear wasn’t smart enough. The U.S. Forest Service now reports they’ve captured the bruin that kept Soapstone Campground shut down. Sadly, the bear had to be killed.
Smart bear kept raiding trash
The Service shut down the campground in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest on July 24 because the young bear kept raiding trash containers. Fearful of potential human-bear interaction, the campground and surrounding dispersed camping areas were closed.
On Saturday, August 3, a bear found trash someone had left in a dispersed camping area about a mile east of Soapstone. Division of Wildlife Resources Northern Region Outreach Manager Mark Hadley says it was probably the same bear that had been trash-diving at Soapstone.
Bear finally trapped
After weeks of ignoring baited traps, the bear finally changed his tactics. Rangers found the bear caught in a trap on Tuesday. Having been found “relying on the campground for food,” the bear was euthanized out of a concern for human safety. The bear was necropsied and found to have a stomach full of food and trash.
This is one of the reasons public lands officials constantly remind campers to keep their campsites clean. Trash and food attract bears, and it can be deadly, not only for hapless humans but for bears who rely on free handouts.
Underscoring the seriousness of the matter, a special order in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest says that food, trash, and unwashed cooking equipment must be kept under bear-proof containment.
While the bear is gone, his marauding legacy lives on. Soapstone Campground won’t reopen until the dumpster the bear damaged can be repaired.
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Poor bear, he did nothing wrong, based on the articles presumed facts. The bear did what all bears do, but they don’t get killed.
Thank you, Russ and Tina! 🙂 Very sad that human carelessness taught a juvenile bear that he doesn’t need to hunt for critters and other natural food sources. Instead, he just needs to eat what humans fail to protect. 🤔😯 🙁 Thanks again, have a great day, safe travels, and safe stays
How sad, it really comes down to the humans creating this tragedy. If they hadn’t left food out to begin with, the bear wouldn’t have gotten into it, and the cycle wouldn’t have formed.