Bear sightings are nothing new this time of year in Southwest Colorado. Especially heading during late-summer months and through fall as they scavenge and pack on calories.
However, this summer Colorado Parks and Wildlife is paying closer attention to the kinds of bear encounters rather than the volume of reports.
CPW spokesperson John Livingston said this year’s reports are coming earlier than normal and increasingly involve bears lingering in towns at daylight hours, frequenting parks and neighborhoods.
“A lot of times, reports are sightings of bears moving through. What concerns me is we are seeing bears – usually it's a young bear – hanging out and they aren’t responding to hazing,” he said.
A great example is a roughly 200-pound bear found in Mancos this week. The male, juvenile bear uncovered a stable food source in unsecured residential trash and stayed for two days. Late Wednesday morning, the bear was sleeping in a tree on North Main Street before it was tranquilized and moved to a mountainous area.
The bear, released several drainages away, must now become acquainted in a new habitat. It must look for food, the same challenge other big-game wildlife species are coping with all across the state while conditions have limited natural food production. Bears go looking for food where it is available – bird feeders, garbage, pet food, livestock feed, fruit trees and chickens are all easy pickings.
Livingston said the situation is similar to last year’s drought conditions that led to spotty yields of berries, grasses, fruits, nuts and other plants. He said bears were already going into dens “in a not-great state,” thinner than usual, before emerging this spring.
The unusual warmth and low snow pack coupled with early budding season led to detrimental spring freezes that weakened berry growth.
“We really have to encourage the humans to do the human part. Bird feeders this year especially have to come down. The bird feeder is going to be typically closer to homes, on porches, and if a bear is really willing to push the limits, we can’t have that,” Livingston said.
He said the main concern is the town interloper learns this behavior as a survival skill that’s repeatable each year. CPW’s message is for humans to not provide attractants. That means securing trash, not feeding any wildlife, and practicing awareness when camping by storing food in approved bear-resistant containers.
Two CPW officers assisted the Mancos Marshal’s Office with the relocation of the bear found earlier this week, Cortez Fire Protection District pitched in by providing a ladder.
“It was just like any wildlife encounter when it occurs, he is cranky when he is cornered,” Mancos Town Chief Marshal Justen Goodall said. “In rural Colorado, law enforcement takes on many roles – we are not enforcing the law but supporting Colorado Parks and Wildlife. And hopefully the public understands they need to give us space.”
It’s the first bear to be removed in the town this year, and the third bear removal in seven years. The town of Mancos, like Dolores, has a local ordinance citing residents for unsecured trash with a fine up to $499. Only one town resident received a citation last year, and Goodall said the Marshal’s Office pushes for voluntary compliance.
“At our next board meeting, we will address the board that bears are very persistent and it’s going to be a long summer,” Goodall said.
The bear’s new location is not disclosed for its safety come hunting season. The decision-making process for wildlife officers to undergo a removal is multifold. Often, the agency designates what it calls a “bear sitter,” a vigilante assessing each movement if, say, the bear is in a tree. The agency generally prefers to leave bears alone if possible, haze them away, and only relocate when public safety is a concern.
The statewide numbers for bear relocations this year tally 13 out of 1,192 reports of bear activity since June 12. CPW officers in Durango have relocated four bears, including a bear from Second Street in Dolores on May 26.
Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin said bear traffic in Dolores has been nonexistent over the past two weeks. The activity compares to late-April and May when he responded to several incidents in town.
On May 11, Nowlin wrote in an incident report that he was patrolling the town and saw a bear getting into unsecured trash at a Nineteenth Street residence.
“The black bear was on the scene as I approached the bear near the trash receptacle,” the report stated. “… (It) was hazed with rubber pellets from my issued 12-gauge pump shotgun. The black bear ran and climbed a tree next to a driveway of the residence and later left the area.”
The report stated it was later determined the owner of the residence was unable to latch the bear-resistant lock, and a warning was issued.
awatson@the-journal.com
