A 13-year old was bitten by a bear in the Moab area along the Colorado River Friday morning.
The 13-year old male victim was bitten on the right cheek and right ear at about 5:45 AM while sleeping in a camping area near the Dewey Bridge in Grand County, Utah. He was first brought to a clinic in Moab and then transported by ambulance to an ER in Grand Junction. He was treated and released.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and USDA Wildlife Services are tracking the animal and plan to trap it once they have identified its general location. It is standard procedure to euthanize a bear if it attacks a human.
The victim says the bear was about his own size and was last seen heading toward the Colorado River. Images of the tracks and camp site can be found on KPCW.org.
The campground is closed and DWR personnel will be stationed there to alert boaters.
KPCW recently reported on the increase this year in the number of human-bear interactions. Rangers want to remind people that Utah is Bear Country and a list of safety practices can be found in a DWR link https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1sBu6Ohf_PNeYaUqM0JSUOvMnfj42yLRa?usp=sharing
