# Utah's Last Grizzly



## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

The recent recommended delisting of grizzlies around Yellowstone got me thinking once again of grizzlies in Utah. The last documented grizzly in Utah was killed in 1923 by a sheep herder in Logan Canyon. Here is a link to the story for those unfamiliar with it:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=17&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjd8uyKrdbUAhXH6YMKHRm_CWMQFgh3MBA&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffamilysearch.org%2Fphotos%2Fartifacts%2F595578&usg=AFQjCNF4whyqMW4Qgd5T0AHZlbWEThYVzw

While the tale of Old Ephraim is well documented, I can't help but wonder if he really was the last one. I seem to remember seeing a photo several years ago hanging on a café wall in Garden City of a young grizzly supposedly killed up Jebo Creek (which is just above Meadowville in Rich County) in the 1930's. I've also heard anecdotal tales of another grizzly reportedly killed about the same time period at the head of Millville Canyon in Cache County. Is it possible that Old Ephraim really wasn't the last wild grizzly roaming the hills of Utah? I kinda think so. Even Frank Clark, the man who killed Old Ephraim, claims to have seen another grizzly in 1936 and seen tracks in 1941.

I've found bear scratchings in a grove of old aspens in Molen's Hollow up Blacksmith, with carvings dating as far back as the 1920's, that I suspect are grizzly. I'm curious if anyone else has seen or heard evidence that would support the theory that Old Ephraim might not have been the last grizzly in Utah??

As an aside, here is another interesting story of grizzlies in Cache County during early settlement times. The fatal mauling took place about where the Logan River Golf Course sits now:

nytimes.com%2F1863%2F10%2F03%2Fnews%2Faffairs-utah-fatal-adventures-with-grizzly-bears-peach-crop-arrival-saints.html&usg=AFQjCNHUg4j65poUOC6LUlwQ3UH9ubmLmQ


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

That was a fascinating article that you posted. Hunting grizzlies with black powder revolvers? Pffft. Amateurs. Al Gore obviously hadn't invented the internet by this time.


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## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Here is an article about the Henry Gates feller that was killed by the grizzly. Supposedly the shotgun he used to dispatch grizzlies in traps and has tooth marks in it from defending himself from his fatal mauling used to make the rounds around schools (maybe still does). I wonder where it is being held today. That would be interesting to see.

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=23140173


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## CPAjeff (Dec 20, 2014)

Awesome links - thanks for posting!


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

colorcountrygunner said:


> Here is an article about the Henry Gates feller that was killed by the grizzly. Supposedly the shotgun he used to dispatch grizzlies in traps and has tooth marks in it from defending himself from his fatal mauling used to make the rounds around schools (maybe still does). I wonder where it is being held today. That would be interesting to see.
> 
> https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=23140173


Thanks for the link, I've read other accounts of Henry Gates fatal bear mauling but never that one. I grew up in Cache Valley and there used to be an old gentleman that came around to the schools and retold the story of Old Ephraim, but Henry Gate's bear chewed shotgun was never exhibited. I too wonder if it still exists, it would be an interesting bit of local history.


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## High Desert Elk (Aug 21, 2012)

I thought Old Ephraim's skull was taken back to and displayed at USU...? Interesting stuff for sure - always neat to see history told as it was. Seen the grave back in the day when wandering around up there.


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