PROVO, Utah (KUTV) — Wildlife crews and police officers were called to a Provo neighborhood after reports of young bear wandering through the area.
Spokesperson Janna-Lee Holland with the Provo Police Department said the bear was seen Wednesday in a backyard, just north of Splash Summit Waterpark.
Neighbors near the park said they got notifications from the city advising them of the bear.
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Holland said officers and crews from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources responded to the area to aid in the search.
One resident said animal control officers told her to take her children inside.
After a couple hours of searching, officers were unable to locate the bear. They believed it may have gone back up the mountain.
It was the third bear sighting over the last three weeks in the Beehive State.
Wildlife crews and police officers were called to a Provo neighborhood after reports of young bear wandering through the area on Wednesday, August 12, 2026. (Photo: Sierra Dickson)
On August 4, a mama bear and two cubs were found high in a tree in Mapleton, about 10 miles from Provo.
A resident saw the bears while outside to check his sprinklers.
Another bear was seen inside Ephraim city limits on July 28. It was safely tranquilized and relocated.
Drought conditions across Utah have left bears with fewer natural food sources, increasing the chances they will venture closer to people in search of something to eat.
Wildlife officials said roughly 90 percent of a black bear’s diet consists of plants and other vegetation, which have become less plentiful during the drought.
If those conditions continue, biologists said bears may increasingly turn to garbage, food left at campgrounds and other sources in populated areas.
Wildlife officials recently tranquilized and relocated a bear after it wandered into Ephraim city limits.
Jonathan May contributed to this report.
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