FARMINGTON, Utah, May 30, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Wildlife officials and advocates are hosting a seminar on urban contact with wild animals.
The seminar runs 1-2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 3, at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center, 1157 S. Waterfowl Way, and will offer tips on coexisting safely with wildlife in urban communities.
On-site experts will share what to do if you encounter urban wildlife, how to minimize conflict with wild animals around your home and neighborhood, and hopes to foster new attitude toward wildlife.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources announced the seminar the same day it happened to have the first of two relocations of bears venturing into residential areas in the same week.
Officials on May 22 tranquilized and moved a bear that had wandered into Oakley. The bear was found in a tree in a populated area with lots of domestic goats and sheep.
“We’re hoping moving it now will keep it from coming back and causing problems with domestic animals this summer,” DWR said at the time.
The bear was a 1- to 2-year-old male, weighing 80 to 100 pounds and likely just emerged from hibernation, state wildlife officials said.
“We took him to a remote part of Weber Canyon and released him into great bear habitat!”
On May 25, the division received a call about a bear just outside the Vernal city limits, also in a tree.
“This two-year-old female bear,” DWR said, “was successfully and safely translocated to a site a few hours away from town, in hopes it will not come into contact with homes again.”
As seminar co-sponsor Wild Aware Utah notes: “Living in Utah means we have wildlife everywhere — even in our backyards! But what if they’re potentially dangerous animals? Or devouring your newly planted garden?”
For more information about the seminar, contact Hayley Pace at 385-515-6447 or hayleypace@utah.gov.
