COLORADO, USA — State wildlife managers are reporting an above-average year for bear conflicts and sightings in Colorado.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a release that they received 4,644 bear reports between Jan. 1 and Nov. 1, 2024, marking a "significant" increase from the 3,414 reports received during the same period last year. It's also above the six-year average of 4,247 bear-related conflicts and sightings reported to CPW.
CPW said the majority of incident reports involve bears trying to access human food sources, and they're asking Coloradans to do their part to reduce conflicts by keeping food away from them.
“Bears are biologically driven to seek out the highest calorie food sources they can get while using as little energy as possible,” said Area 15 wildlife manager Adrian Archuleta. “To reduce conflicts with bears, people must remain vigilant year round. Please use bear-resistant containers for your trash, lock your vehicles, lock your homes and windows, close your garage doors, and remove fruit that has fallen on the ground.”
CPW notes that reports of bear sightings and conflicts in Area 15, which covers Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata and Montezuma counties in southwest Colorado, have been steadily increasing over the past three years.
“Natural food production was spotty this year, but Area 15 has plenty of domestic fruit trees around towns and private lands that produced good fruit,” Archuleta said. “This easily available food source could have drawn bears closer to human-occupied areas, increasing conflicts.”
Wildlife managers overseeing parts of the state that have seen more activity report a lack of natural food sources and bears becoming comfortable being around humans. Some managers said there has been an increase in bears being killed by vehicles as a result.
CPW said people should report bears seen in urban areas to their local wildlife office and encourages people to follow "bear aware" principles year-round. That includes the following practices:
- Securing trash cans and dumpsters
- Removing bird feeders
- Closing garage doors even when you're at home
- Cleaning and locking your car and house doors
- Calling CPW when bears become a nuisance. When you call to report a bear coming near your home, CPW can give you tips tailored to your situation to prevent them from coming around in the future.
CPW also provides Colorado communities with financial resources through its Human-Bear Conflict Reduction Community Grant Program, which supports efforts to reduce human-bear conflicts.
