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John Hollenhorst ReportingA bear was shot and killed last night when she wandered into a Boy Scout camp for at least the third time. The night before, she created quite a stir by clamping her teeth onto a scout's arm.
Yes, if 14-year-old Colton Stewart ever has grandchildren, he'll be telling the story about the night in Hobble Creek Canyon when he woke up with his arm in a bear's mouth. The bear, unfortunately, paid a price for her curiosity.
Chelsea Smith, Camp Director: "So these boys have had quite the adventure at adventure park."
The campground staff knew a couple of days ago something was up. For one thing, fresh claw marks next to a bear warning sign.
Chelsea Smith: "So it was just over here, exploring, slashed through this tent, ripped this tent. There's some marks up here."
The campers moved in anyway.
Chelsea Smith: "We just didn't think that it would be too much of a problem."
Colton Stewart went to bed nervously Tuesday night and he managed to get some sleep, until 3:30 am.
Colton Stewart, Staff: "And I came up out of my sleeping bag. I woke up and I felt something. It felt like my arm was burning."
Tooth marks on the tent show it was the real deal. The bear's teeth didn't puncture the canvas. They only slightly tore the skin on Colton's arm.
Anis Aoudi, Utah Div. of Wildlife Resources: "It wasn't biting viciously. They put their mouth on things to see what they taste like."
A wildlife officer came to watch for the bear. And sure enough, she came back for dinner as the scouts were cooking ribs.
Anis Aoudi: "The bear showed up and he had to actually shoot the bear and kill it."
Some of the campers captured the bear's last moments with their cell phones and digital cameras.
Chelsea Smith: "I definitely think it was the right thing to do, yeah."
Afterwards, the wildlife officer sat down with the scouts for about 45 minutes, explaining why the bear had to be killed.
Anis Aoudi: "If you get between them and their food, and they're not afraid of humans, they will attack."
Colton says he felt kind of bad.
Colton Stewart: "Kind of. Kind of not. Kind of sad that it killed it. But kind of glad that it's gone. "
