08-16-2004, 11:24 PM
PEOPLE/BEAR ENCOUNTERS REPORTED IN PARTS OF COLORADO AS HIBERNATION-MINDED BRUINS HUNT FOR FOOD
Spring moisture resulted in good bear habitat this year, but late freezes, the residual effects of a stubborn drought, and far-flung forays by hungry bruins have led to multiple reports of human/bear encounters in parts of Colorado.
Overall, however, state wildlife officials said 2004 is turning out to be fairly typical for such brushes. As in previous years, they are warning the public to dispose properly of trash and keep alluring food sources out of bears' line of sight and smell. In bear country, after all, it is calories that count as the bruins devour wild berries, nuts, and whatever else they can get their paws on in preparation for hibernation.
Most people/bear encounters this year have occurred in the upper Roaring Fork Valley, in Summit County, and near Montrose. Bears have been caught rummaging through trailers, cabins and garages, and loitering around trash bins and campgrounds.
“This is the worst season I’ve had in my 20 years in the upper Roaring Fork Valley,” said Kevin Wright, the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s (DOW) district wildlife manager in Aspen. “We’ve been dealing with bear problems around the clock in the Aspen area, with some bears breaking into people’s homes and trailers.”
As summer progresses each year, bears begin to eat intensively as they work to pack on as much fat as they can before winter. Any shortage of natural forage, even for a limited time, will force them to move farther and search harder for calories. The drive to down calories peaks in late autumn, when bears will forage 20 or more hours each day to pack on the pounds. However, bears that have learned to associate food with people have broken into homes, increasing the likelihood that people will be injured.
Wildlife officers have already had to kill or relocate several bears. This past weekend in Fruita two bears were relocated; a severely dehydrated cub was sent to a rehabilitator; and a homeowner reported a sow and three cubs in her yard. As many as five bears have been struck and killed by vehicles on Interstate 70 between Pali
e and DeBeque over the past week alone. Last week, a man walked into a cabin near DeBeque and surprised a 200-pound bear as it lunched on cocoa powder. The 29-year-old man fled the cabin after the bear sank its teeth into his boots. The bear was later destroyed by wildlife officers, who deemed the mammal a threat to human safety.
“We emphasize to everyone that it’s critical to keep, trash, pet food, livestock feed, bird feeders and other attractants away from bears, either in closed, locked structures or in airtight containers,” explained Pat Tucker, area wildlife manager in Glenwood Springs. "When those attractants have been reduced or removed and bears still break through windows and doors, we must consider other options available to us as part of our responsibility to the public. Trapping, relocating and even destroying them must be considered—although only as a last resort."
DOW policy relies on a dual approach. The first line of defense is to inform homeowners, communities, campers, hikers and others on how to live with wildlife in bear habitat. Rather than immediately removing problem bears, wildlife managers ask homeowners, restaurant owners and others to first remove whatever might be attracting the bruins in the first place. Wildlife officers will also use rubber buckshot, pepper sprayers, and other techniques to persuade bears to leave an area. If those methods fail, wildlife managers will consider trapping and relocating bears. Anything that can attract bears must have been removed beforehand, however.
"If the reasons for the bear being there in the first place are still there after we trap a bear, we've only solved the immediate, short-term problem," Tucker said. "It's critical that we work toward solving the problem permanently."
Killing a bear is the last resort for wildlife officers when other solutions don’t work. In early August, wildlife officers killed a bear near Westcliffe west of Pueblo after it had broken into 30 or more trailers and cabins, in some cases repeatedly. Area Wildlife Manager Al Trujillo said a woman who once lived in the region apparently had been feeding the bear since it was a cub, and the bear learned to associate cabins and trailers with food. The woman moved away from the area, but the bear did not.
"It was not a previously captured bear, but because it had shown a disposition for breaking into homes we decided to kill it," Trujillo said.
Near Fairplay southwest of Denver the "coffee creamer cubs" have been breaking through windows in trailers, buildings and sheds to reach their favorite treats. Wildlife officers said the cubs, who gained notoriety in the past because of their penchant for non-dairy coffee creamer, have damaged microwaves, refrigerators and cabinets.
"There is a continued feeling by some that it is not a big deal if a bear gets my bird feeder or trash once and a while, but we know that the cumulative effect to the bear is a death sentence," said DOW District Wildlife Manager Mark Lamb.
Over the past decade, bear relocation has become more challenging because Colorado's human population has grown and expanded into bear habitat, and "We sometimes run the risk of simply moving the problem from one place to another," said Jerry Apker, the DOW's carnivore specialist.
Apker said Colorado's black bears are currently in a transition period, moving from grasses, forbs, flowers and other summertime succulents to berries and acorns where available. In areas where berries and acorns have not ripened, however, bears become more active in their search for food, increasing the chances of encounters between people and bears. In Pitkin County, isolated pockets hit by hard freezes in mid-June have created a shortage of acorns and berries for bears. Near Salida, meanwhile, summer moisture has created a bumper crop of acorns and most reported bear problems have involved trash sources in or near campgrounds.
In the Durango region, excellent winter snowfall, a damp spring and summer, and no late frosts has created prime bear forage, said Area Wildlife Manager Pat Dorsey.
"We're hoping we don’t see as many conflicts as we see in poor food years," she said.
Even so, Dorsey added, "We always encourage people to increase efforts to bear-proof their house."
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Spring moisture resulted in good bear habitat this year, but late freezes, the residual effects of a stubborn drought, and far-flung forays by hungry bruins have led to multiple reports of human/bear encounters in parts of Colorado.
Overall, however, state wildlife officials said 2004 is turning out to be fairly typical for such brushes. As in previous years, they are warning the public to dispose properly of trash and keep alluring food sources out of bears' line of sight and smell. In bear country, after all, it is calories that count as the bruins devour wild berries, nuts, and whatever else they can get their paws on in preparation for hibernation.
Most people/bear encounters this year have occurred in the upper Roaring Fork Valley, in Summit County, and near Montrose. Bears have been caught rummaging through trailers, cabins and garages, and loitering around trash bins and campgrounds.
“This is the worst season I’ve had in my 20 years in the upper Roaring Fork Valley,” said Kevin Wright, the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s (DOW) district wildlife manager in Aspen. “We’ve been dealing with bear problems around the clock in the Aspen area, with some bears breaking into people’s homes and trailers.”
As summer progresses each year, bears begin to eat intensively as they work to pack on as much fat as they can before winter. Any shortage of natural forage, even for a limited time, will force them to move farther and search harder for calories. The drive to down calories peaks in late autumn, when bears will forage 20 or more hours each day to pack on the pounds. However, bears that have learned to associate food with people have broken into homes, increasing the likelihood that people will be injured.
Wildlife officers have already had to kill or relocate several bears. This past weekend in Fruita two bears were relocated; a severely dehydrated cub was sent to a rehabilitator; and a homeowner reported a sow and three cubs in her yard. As many as five bears have been struck and killed by vehicles on Interstate 70 between Pali
e and DeBeque over the past week alone. Last week, a man walked into a cabin near DeBeque and surprised a 200-pound bear as it lunched on cocoa powder. The 29-year-old man fled the cabin after the bear sank its teeth into his boots. The bear was later destroyed by wildlife officers, who deemed the mammal a threat to human safety.“We emphasize to everyone that it’s critical to keep, trash, pet food, livestock feed, bird feeders and other attractants away from bears, either in closed, locked structures or in airtight containers,” explained Pat Tucker, area wildlife manager in Glenwood Springs. "When those attractants have been reduced or removed and bears still break through windows and doors, we must consider other options available to us as part of our responsibility to the public. Trapping, relocating and even destroying them must be considered—although only as a last resort."
DOW policy relies on a dual approach. The first line of defense is to inform homeowners, communities, campers, hikers and others on how to live with wildlife in bear habitat. Rather than immediately removing problem bears, wildlife managers ask homeowners, restaurant owners and others to first remove whatever might be attracting the bruins in the first place. Wildlife officers will also use rubber buckshot, pepper sprayers, and other techniques to persuade bears to leave an area. If those methods fail, wildlife managers will consider trapping and relocating bears. Anything that can attract bears must have been removed beforehand, however.
"If the reasons for the bear being there in the first place are still there after we trap a bear, we've only solved the immediate, short-term problem," Tucker said. "It's critical that we work toward solving the problem permanently."
Killing a bear is the last resort for wildlife officers when other solutions don’t work. In early August, wildlife officers killed a bear near Westcliffe west of Pueblo after it had broken into 30 or more trailers and cabins, in some cases repeatedly. Area Wildlife Manager Al Trujillo said a woman who once lived in the region apparently had been feeding the bear since it was a cub, and the bear learned to associate cabins and trailers with food. The woman moved away from the area, but the bear did not.
"It was not a previously captured bear, but because it had shown a disposition for breaking into homes we decided to kill it," Trujillo said.
Near Fairplay southwest of Denver the "coffee creamer cubs" have been breaking through windows in trailers, buildings and sheds to reach their favorite treats. Wildlife officers said the cubs, who gained notoriety in the past because of their penchant for non-dairy coffee creamer, have damaged microwaves, refrigerators and cabinets.
"There is a continued feeling by some that it is not a big deal if a bear gets my bird feeder or trash once and a while, but we know that the cumulative effect to the bear is a death sentence," said DOW District Wildlife Manager Mark Lamb.
Over the past decade, bear relocation has become more challenging because Colorado's human population has grown and expanded into bear habitat, and "We sometimes run the risk of simply moving the problem from one place to another," said Jerry Apker, the DOW's carnivore specialist.
Apker said Colorado's black bears are currently in a transition period, moving from grasses, forbs, flowers and other summertime succulents to berries and acorns where available. In areas where berries and acorns have not ripened, however, bears become more active in their search for food, increasing the chances of encounters between people and bears. In Pitkin County, isolated pockets hit by hard freezes in mid-June have created a shortage of acorns and berries for bears. Near Salida, meanwhile, summer moisture has created a bumper crop of acorns and most reported bear problems have involved trash sources in or near campgrounds.
In the Durango region, excellent winter snowfall, a damp spring and summer, and no late frosts has created prime bear forage, said Area Wildlife Manager Pat Dorsey.
"We're hoping we don’t see as many conflicts as we see in poor food years," she said.
Even so, Dorsey added, "We always encourage people to increase efforts to bear-proof their house."
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