Have You Seen This? Bear raids Mapleton trash bin, home for early morning breakfast

MAPLETON — Prepared food in the morning is all the rage; even the bears are getting into it.

On Thursday morning, Cherise Rodman woke up to find trash strewn across her driveway. She took a video of the carnage to showcase the remains of an animal's meal.

Upon reviewing her driveway security footage, she discovered that the culprit was likely a black bear that wandered across her driveway shortly before 5:15 a.m. The video shows the bear casually walking across the Rodmans' driveway before disappearing off-screen.

The next day, the bear came back for seconds! Rodman said they had put their garbage cans away, but they had forgotten to secure a bag of chicken feed. It tore into the bag in full view of the camera. Rodman said it also visited three other homes in the area looking for dessert.

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According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, the number of bear incidents requiring its intervention had doubled from 2025, thanks in part to drought conditions across the state. As of August 25, 168 incidents had been called in.

"Even though they're incredibly strong and surprisingly fast, black bears will typically do everything they can to avoid people," said DWR Game Mammals Coordinator Chad Wilson. "When a bear finds food, though, that can all change. A bear may become aggressive toward animals or people it perceives as threatening the area where it found the food."

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources requested that the public report a bear incident:

• If a bear enters a campsite or gets into garbage or food in the campground.
• Any bear that has wandered into lower-elevation areas and is within city limits or a heavily populated community.
• If a bear is being aggressive or if it's getting into trash, fruit trees or causing damage.

Rodman said the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources will try to catch the bear on Friday. The Rodman breakfast restaurant is officially closed.

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