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FORT DUCHESNE — Officials warned residents that there are two unexpected visitors on the loose. Two bears are on Ute tribal land. Ute Tribe emergency management said Ute Fish and Wildlife Management is trying to remove two bears. They were seen near the community building and senior citizen housing. Traps have been placed. McKayla Thornton lives in the area with her two children. She said they saw one bear Saturday night by the Ute Indian Tribe offices. "I saw the bear hanging over the rail, and he was kind of digging in the trash, and at first I was like, 'Oh, they got a bear statue or something there like that just looks different,'" Thornton said. She was shocked when it moved. She said the bear seemed scared, but not aggressive. "He's looking a little rough, but who knows?" Thornton said. "He'd ran up the tree and looked like he was trying to hide from us a bit. And then when we came back through, he was just casually strolling around." Some people online think the bears' timing is no coincidence. "They were saying in the comments that the bear just wanted to come down and be a part of the bear dance, " Thornton said. This weekend was Fort Duchesne's Bear Dance, an annual Ute tribe tradition marking the start of spring, celebrating community ties and highlighting bears coming out of hibernation. "At one point, my kids were like, 'Are you going to go out and see him?' Thornton said. "No, it's a bear. I'm not going to do that." Police said if you see them, call fish and Wildlife Dispatch at 435-725-4835 or dispatch 435-722-2911. [gallery ids="907284,907285,907286"]
