Mapleton bear removed from neighborhood

MAPLETON — The days of the Rodmans' bear breakfast restaurant in Mapleton have ended.

Several weeks prior, Cherise Rodman discovered that a bear had wandered across her driveway before chowing down on her garbage, which she had left outside. The following day, the bear returned, chewing into a bag of chicken feed they had left on the porch.

Rodman owns chickens, while her neighbors own horses, cows and other livestock. She said it was "lucky" that the bear didn't target any of the animals.

"It's been so crazy in the last few weeks in our neighborhood," Rodman said.

The bear left the Rodmans alone for several weeks, leaving them to hope that the bear had left the area. Unfortunately, Rodman's neighbors still said they saw it wandering through their yards.

"I was definitely on edge," she said.

The Rodmans and their neighbors kept their trash cans inside their garages, but on Sunday night, they forgot to bring them inside. The bear took the opportunity to chow down once again.

This time, the Utah Department of Wildlife set up a trap for the bear near the Rodmans' home.

On Wednesday morning, the trap was finally sprung, safely securing the bear inside, where it couldn't raid the local trash cans.

Rodman said the Utah Department of Wildlife took the bear away. Workers with the department did not say whether they would kill the bear or tag it and release it far away from the Rodmans' neighborhood.

"We're going to be more cautious and aware of what's going on in our neighborhood," Rodman said.

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