WOODLAND PARK, Colo. — Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is offering a reward in an effort to help identify the person who shot and killed a bear recently in Woodland Park.
CPW said officers responded to a report of a dead sow with two cubs in the Ranch Estates neighborhood on the south end of Woodland Park on July 26. Once on scene, they located two cubs who had climbed into a tree and took them to a nearby rehabilitation facility.
An investigation later revealed that the sow's carcass had been shot, CPW said. A lack of leads in the case prompted the department to offer a reward for information leading to the arrest of the person who shot the mother bear.
“This is poaching and it’s illegal and we want to catch the person who did this,” said Corey Adler, CPW district wildlife manager. “But we need the public’s help.”
>Video above: Bear cubs find ways to cool down in the summer heat
Adler said convictions for illegally injuring or killing wildlife could result in fines from $750 to $3,000 and up to six months in jail, depending on the charge. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact CPW's Southeast Regional office at 719-227-5200.
“Colorado Parks and Wildlife takes these situations very seriously,” said Cody Wigner, Area Wildlife Manager for the Pikes Peak region. “Someone made a decision to kill this animal, orphaning her two cubs. We need to find this person.”
The two orphaned cubs were taken to the Wet Mountain Wildlife Rehabilitation facility in Wetmore where staff will work to teach the cubs the skills they need to survive. CPW said once old enough, they will be released back into the wild.
To provide information anonymously about a wildlife violation, contact Operation Game Thief at 877-265-6648, by dialing #OGT from a Verizon cellphone, or by email at game.thief@state.co.us. Rewards are available if the information leads to an arrest or citation.
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