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PANGUITCH, Utah - One Utah community is cheering a special bear - but don't call him Smoky.

Investigators say a large black bear raided a clandestine marijuana growing operation so often that it chased the grower away.

Deputies found food containers ripped apart and strewn all over, along with claw marks and bear prints everywhere.

Garfield County Sheriff Danny Perkins says the marijuana operation on Boulder Mountain included 4,000 "starter" sacks of pot and 888 young plants.

Perkins quips that his county is so tough on drugs that even the wildlife are getting in on the action.

The sheriff adds that if he ever finds the bear he's going to deputize it.