'The most painful outcome': Black bear cub found in Sanpete County euthanized

MT. PLEASANT, Sanpete County — A black bear cub found earlier this week in a Mt. Pleasant home's window well has been euthanized, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said Wednesday.

The bear cub first drew attention on Monday, when several schools in Sanpete County were placed on secure protocol after the cub was spotted. This was a precaution, as officials searched for a nearby "mama bear," but never found her.

Initially, police announced the cub had been safely relocated; however, the DWR stated that after it "evaluated" several options to rehome the animal, the most humane option was to euthanize the bear cub.

"A bear cub's chances of survival in the wild without its mother are extremely low," the DWR statement said.

It said orphaned or solo bear cubs often face things like "starvation, predation and dangerous human-wildlife conflicts — making relocation of the cub not a very humane option."

Related:

Black bear euthanized after being spotted in Logan

A young black bear was tranquilized and evaluated after being spotted in Logan on Saturday during a time when Utahns continue to report more bear sightings across the state.

According to the DWR, Utah lacks wildlife facilities equipped to care for bears and "other large predators." While it did look into options outside of the state, ultimately, the DWR stated, it did not find any "accredited facilities equipped to accept the cub," leading it to make the difficult decision for it to euthanize the cub.

"Our staff dedicate their careers to conserving and protecting Utah's wildlife," the DWR stated. "Euthanizing an animal is always the most painful outcome of this work, and agency personnel exhausted all viable alternatives before taking such action."

The DWR said Utahns can help keep the state's black bears safe by cleaning their campsites, "bear-proofing" their garbage and food and not leaving trashcans out near foothills or canyons.

Click here to learn more about Utah's black bears and how to avoid conflict with them.

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