RICH COUNTY — Bear Lake State Park officials are asking motorists to slow down while driving after a black bear was struck and killed.
According to a post from Bear Lake State Park, the black bear was struck and killed by a vehicle. The bear was hit on the paved county road, and it appeared he walked down and died on the dirt road that runs through the Cisco Beach area on the Utah side of the park.
Park officials said that black bears were once native to the valley near Bear Lake, but “were nearly wiped out in the late 1800s and early 1900s due to overhunting and habitat loss.”
The post from the state park explained that seeing a bear return to the area is a rare and powerful reminder of the wild beauty that once thrived here. Unfortunately, that beauty is too often met with danger on our roads.
Park officials asked people who drive in the area to slow down and drive with extra caution around dawn and dusk. They also asked that people traveling to Bear Lake remember that wildlife do not follow crosswalks, and have an equal right to inhabit their natural habitat.
They concluded, “Let’s honor the memory of this bear by keeping our eyes open, slowing down, and respecting the land we share with the wild.”