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SPRINGVILLE — Utah wildlife officials are concerned the warm weather may be confusing animals, impacting where they feed and migrate.
"We've had some bears come out of their den a little bit early," said Scott Root, outreach manager for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
For now, Root said people don't need to worry about bears reaching residential or other nearby areas.
"I wouldn't be too nervous about being in the outdoors," he said. "Most of the gates are still locked up from the Forest Service."
However, if temperatures remain warm and dry, people could begin seeing more bears and other wild animals.
"If we did have a drought year, that could do things like bring bears down into town, following water resources, streams, down towards residential areas," Root said.
"In the past we have had times of elevated bear sightings close to town because they were looking for water," he said.
On the one hand, the warm temperatures are good for some animals.
"It's really good for our big game animals — our deer, our elk — because it's not bitter cold and we don't have deep snow," Root said.
On the other hand, dry conditions could rob the herds of places to feed.
"We hope we have a lot of moisture this spring because we need that succulent vegetation for our big game animals as well," Root said.
Root also said Utah is seeing fewer bald eagles this year than in past years.
"I feel like they just didn't need to come this far south from Canada because we haven't had the cold weather," he said.
He's also noticed songbirds migrate through the state "a little bit early."
At this time, Root said people don't need to worry about wild animals getting close to residential areas; however, if people notice wild animals close to their homes, Root recommended they contact the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
