A black bear runs through a construction site near the Strata Apartments on Saturday in Logan.
Some people in Cache Valley got a surprise Saturday as a black bear made its way down from the mountains to wander the streets of Nibley and Logan.
The bear was seen running around U.S. 89/91, and then went into some trees behind the Quality Inn that is on the south side of the highway.
Lawn enforcement and wildlife tried to corner the animal, but it started running east toward the Strata Apartment complex.
According to Jim Christensen, who is the Division of Wildlife Resources Northern Region Wildlife Manager, dogs were brought in to help track the bear.
Sarah Crain. who lives in the apartments, got an up-close look at the bear as she was on her way to check her mail.
“I start hearing these dogs, they are growling really aggressively,” Crain said. “I turned around and there is this little bear cub and it starts running directly towards me, and at the last second pivots away from me. He was about five feet from me.
“I was terrified, I was like I do not want to get mauled by a bear today.”
After going through the complex, the bear ran into an apartment under construction.
“We thought we had it trapped there. We shut the door and it came out the window opening,” Christensen said. “We were able to catch up to it again and get a dart into it to chemically immobilize it. It did a little more running and came over to Young Powersports and fell asleep in their yard.”
Afterwards, the bear was examined where it was determined it was a 2-year-old boar.
Biologists checked it out for its overall health conditions. Because of the heat, the temperature of the bear was elevated above normal. Water was dumped on its paws and armpits to help cool it down.
“With as hot as it was, that could be detrimental to the bear,” Christensen said.
The bear was then loaded into a truck, where it will be transported to a facility for some further health assessments to determine what their next course of action will be.
Crain commented that she was nervous about being so close to the bear even though it was a cub.
“It was about half the size of me, so I could tell it was a baby,” Cain said. “I was more scared that it was with a family and there was a mom right behind it that was also getting ready to chase me for being so close to the cub.”
Christensen commented that even small bears can be dangerous.
“If they do come down into the valley like this, please stay away from it,” Christensen said. “I know it’s very exciting to take a look at it, but it can be very dangerous. They have big claws, they are old enough to defend themselves, and they can cause some serious damage to people, pets, livestock and homes.
“Please just be bear aware. A lot of people don’t realize that we have bears above Logan, obviously we do, as shown by today.”
There have been other black bear sightings and interactions with humans in Utah recently. The drought and wildfires in certain areas have played a role in this.