CASTLE PINES, Colo. — After a bear was found dead in a Castle Pines neighborhood Friday, one of the residents there is saying he thinks someone killed it, and he’s willing to reward anyone who helps him find that person.
Jason Clay, a spokesperson with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), said they are investigating the death of a bear in the city about 20 miles south of Denver.
Clay said he did not know how the bear died.
But Joe Oltmann, who lives in the neighborhood, said he believes someone killed it.
Oltmann claims he heard what he thinks were gunshots around 1 a.m. Thursday. He said he looked around that morning but didn't find anything.
Friday morning, Oltmann said he saw two bear cubs in a tree in his yard.
He said he called CPW who sent an officer to his house. Oltmann said the officer began looking for the mother of the cubs and eventually found a dead bear in a ditch under the tree.
Oltmann is now offering $2,500 to anyone who can help him find the person he thinks killed the mother bear.
CPW captured the orphaned cubs and brought them to the Frisco Creek Wildlife Facility in Del Norte where they will remain through the winter, a tweet from the department says. The cubs will eventually be released back into the wild.
In a tweet, CPW said initial reports indicated there might have been three cubs. If anyone has information on the death of the sow or has seen the third curb, they're urged to call 303-291–7227.
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