A biologist from the Division of Wildlife Resources is recovering after a scary incident in the Book Cliffs on Tuesday. The 20-year veteran with the DWR and six other personnel were visiting bear dens in the remote Book Cliffs tracking bears that biologists had placed radio collars on. Biologists would locate the bear dens, dart and tranquilize the bears, check the bears condition, replace collars and look for cubs. At noon on March 14th, the DWR team was at the den of a female bear with two cubs. “We successfully darted the collared female and noticed one yearling bear also in the den with her,” shares DWR Wildlife Manager Dax Mangus. “We loaded another dart, and were ready to dart the yearling, when the dart accidently discharged and struck the biologist in his hand.” The team was trained to know what to do. They divided themselves into teams and sent the man and two others to the top of a ridge where they could get cell service to call for help and where a helicopter could safely land.
At about 2:45pm
, the helicopter arrived and the biologist was flown to the Utah Valley Regional Medical Center where he was treated and released
on Wednesday morning
. “We feel so fortunate that we were able to develop a quick response to the incident and get appropriate medical help in a timely manner, despite being in such a remote location,” says Mangus. “We’re so happy that he’s going to be OK.”
