A bear cub found alone in Sanpete County was euthanized after officials were unable to locate its mother, according to a report published August 27.
Michael Packer, an outreach manager for the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, confirmed that the cub was not relocated as originally hoped.
The cub, which was less than a year old, was discovered in a window well at a Mount Pleasant elementary school. According to a previous news release from the North View Police, officials had originally planned to search for the cub's mother in an attempt to relocate both animals.
Packer, based in the Springville Utah DWR office, stated that the mother was not located. He noted that the cub's chances of survival in the wild without its mother would be extremely low due to risks of starvation, predation, and dangerous human-wildlife conflicts.
Utah lacks certified wildlife rehabilitation facilities equipped to house and care for large predators like bears. Packer stated that officials spent two days conducting an exhaustive nationwide search for other rehoming options, but found zero accredited facilities capable of accepting the bear at that time.
