Black bear bites a sleeping 13-year-old boy in the face at a Utah campground

A camping trip took a scary turn for a teenage boy in Utah on Friday.

The 13-year-old was asleep at a campground near Moab early Friday morning when he was attacked by a bear, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources wrote in a Facebook post.

The bear bit the Colorado teen on his cheek and ear, according to the post.

He was taken to an area hospital for treatment and has since been released, KUTV reported.

Officials describe the animal as a “smaller” black bear, the Salt Lake City Tribune reported. Black bears are uncommon in that part of the state and officials believe the bear wandered into the area to find food and was enticed to stay by in-season berries, the newspaper reported.

The Dewey Bridge Campground, where the attack occurred, is beside the Colorado River, wildlife officials said in the Facebook post.

The Division of Wildlife Resources says it’s trying to track down the bear and has spotted bear tracks in the sand near the river. Because the bear attacked a human, it will be euthanized once it’s captured.

“We don’t want him to hurt anyone else,” Division of Wildlife Resources representative Darren DeBloois said, according to the Tribune.

This story was originally published August 11, 2019 at 11:18 AM with the headline "Black bear bites a sleeping 13-year-old boy in the face at a Utah campground."