KUSA — Flatirons Elementary School was put on a lockout Friday because bears were sighted in the area.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife was also looking for a mountain lion that was chased out of a backyard in Boulder on Friday.
Wildlife near schools, neighborhoods and businesses is a subject that has come up a lot this week.
Some of it is what people come to expect when living in Colorado, but there were a couple of moments even CPW said were unusual.
One example is in Centennial, when an elk on Thursday was spotted sitting outside a garage.
Jason Clay with CPW said the elk may have gotten lost and found its way into the neighborhood near South Broadway and East Arapahoe Road.
He said when it cools down, elk go to lower elevation. Sometimes they walk through vegetation that can cut through neighborhoods and then get confused about how to get back out.
This particular elk also had a minor leg injury and was tranquilized and relocated.
But before it was relocated, CPW officers allowed kids to get a closer look at the elk while it was still tranquilized, because they said it was a good education opportunity.
Clay said it was safe for the elk as well. It was eventually released back into its natural habitat.
"A lot of these kids may never see an elk. But it’s a big part of this state. We want our children to know these animals," Clay said.
There were also several mountain lion sightings, including in Lyons and Boulder.
Clay said people shouldn't be surprised to see mountain lions in certain parts of Colorado, because as the population has grown and new homes have been built, people are now sharing land with these animals.
But when one walked into a Boulder motel earlier this month, Clay said that was unusual since mountain lions tend to be reclusive.
Flatirons Elementary went on lockdown three times in the last week, and Creekside Elementary went on lockdown once, due to bear sightings.
CPW said the bears are getting ready to hibernate and class happened to be near their food.
"Especially in that location, there is so much fruit in between that school and cemetery, " Clay said.
CPW has an ongoing relationship with these schools, since this has happened before. There are also "bear-sitters," or volunteers who help keep an eye on them.
Iy may seem like there have been a lot of bear encounters recently, but the numbers are actually down for the year.
Last year CPW relocated 109 bears and put down 216. So far this year, they've only moved 17 and put down 31, according to Clay.
He also said the bears in Boulder weren't being aggressive, they were just doing what they need to get ready to hibernate.
