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LAKE POWELL — An unusual case of a bear at Lake Powell was made even more unusual by the animal’s choice of habitat and escape attempt that required a rescue from the reservoir.
Friday, Sept. 27, a bear cub looking for food surprised Lake Powell visitors, DWR Lake Powell fisheries manager Wayne Gustaveson reported. Visitors fed the bear cub table scraps and fish before reporting the bear sighting.
National Park Service and Utah Parks and Recreation officers responded Saturday, removing the bear from the lake shore. They left it to make its way back home.
The bear, however, had a different plan. Sunday, the bear returned to Lake Powell, boarding a temporarily unoccupied boat, the DWR reported.
While two tracking dogs and three wildlife experts had been searching for the bear, the bear had boarded the boat, the owners of which were hiking in the area at the time.
“The dogs were let loose and the hunt was on when a visitor came over the hill and stated, ‘Can you help me? There’s a bear on my boat,’ ” Gustaveson said.
DWR officers injected the cub with a tranquilizer gun. Before the anesthesia had lulled the bear to sleep, though, the bear jumped off the boat into the water. According to the DWR, Jason Nicholes, a DWR wildlife biologist, watched the bear swim a few yards before it went limp in the water. Nicholes removed his cell phone and shirt, jumped in the water, swam to the bear and held it afloat until the boat could come to him, Gustaveson said.
Officers transported the bear to shore, then to Cedar City.
“The cub recovered nicely and seemed to have little adverse reaction following the abrupt end to his Lake Powell vacation,” Gustaveson said.
