SPRINGVILLE — A 14-year-old boy was bitten in the arm by a bear Wednesday morning as he slept in a tent in the Left Fork of Hobble Creek Canyon.
When the bear returned to the same camp on Thursday, representatives from the Division of Wildlife Resources shot and killed it as a safety precaution, according to a posting on the DWR Web site.
Colton Stewart, who was camping out as a part of the Adventure Park Scout Camp run by the Boy Scouts of America, did not require any medical treatment for the bite. Though the bite did break the skin of the upper part of Stewart's shoulder, the puncture wound was no bigger than a bee sting, the posting said.
A DWR conservation officer dispatched to monitor the camp site shot the bear as a part of the DWR's policy for dealing with aggressive animals.
The bear was a two- to three-year-old female and weighed approximately 130 pounds. While DWR posting said it is common for bears to put objects into their mouths to see if they are edible, bears become a threat when they loose their fear of people and approach them.
The bear's carcass will now be tested for rabies.