Published by Paul Ivinskas
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
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Outdoors & skiing

Utah wildlife officers have euthanized 70 bears this year, up from record of 24

A Division of Wildlife Resources official says there is little natural food for bears this year.

Published Mountain Time
Source / event date: Original report: 2026-10-19T12:00:00.000Z

Based on reporting by Utah News Dispatch. Read the original story →

Utah wildlife officers have euthanized 70 bears this year, up from the previous record of 24, according to a Stateline report published by Utah News Dispatch. Utah has a smaller bear population than many Western states. [1]

Chad Wilson, game mammals coordinator for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, said: "There just isn't a heck of a lot for them to eat out on the landscape." He described the choice officers face between humanely euthanizing a bear or relocating it, where it may starve or cause more conflicts. [1]

Wildlife agencies in other states report similar conflicts and urge people to remove bird feeders and secure garbage. [1]

Sources

  1. Utah News Dispatch: Bear killings skyrocket as garbage, bird feeders draw them into conflict

This story was written by AI from the report by Utah News Dispatch, which has the full story. How we write stories.

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