Springtime in Colorado brings warmer weather that starts to melt away the ice and brings back wildflowers. It also means many bears are emerging from their dens and are on the search for food. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials want locals and visitors to take steps to reduce interaction between bears and people.
As recently as Thursday, CPW reported an incident where a bear got into two different vehicles outside of Telluride. The agency posted about the incident on social media.
We had a bear get into two different vehicles west of Telluride last night.
— CPW SW Region (@CPW_SW)
A reminder to roll up windows and lock car doors. Bears are good at getting into cars but aren鈥檛 the best at getting back out, and they can cause a lot of damage.
Never leave food in cars.
In the post, the agency wrote that people should remember to roll up windows and lock car doors. They said, 鈥淏ears are good at getting into cars but aren鈥檛 the best at getting back out, and they can cause a lot of damage.鈥�
According to a , there are already 82 reports of bear activity in 17 different counties this year. That number will only rise as bears become more active.
鈥淓very time a bear gets food from or near humans, whether from a bird feeder, a hummingbird feeder, or trash, it teaches the bear that people equal food,鈥� stated Tim Kroening, Area Wildlife Manager for the Colorado Springs area in the press release. 鈥淏ears are extremely intelligent and we can鈥檛 unteach a bear that becomes habituated to a human-provided food source.鈥�
CPW officials say historically, years with less moisture see an increase in human and bear conflicts. Currently, 37.2% of the state is under some kind of drought conditions. That鈥檚 , a federal agency that tracks conditions.
In the meantime, CPW offered this advice to bear-proof homes:
- Keep garbage in a well-secured location. Only put out garbage on the morning of pickup.
- Clean garbage cans regularly to keep them free of food odors: ammonia is effective.
- Keep garage doors closed. Do not leave pet food or stock feed outside.
- Use a bear-resistant trash can or dumpster.
- Bird feeders are a major source of bear/human conflicts. Attract birds naturally with flowers and water baths. Do not hang bird feeders from April 15 to Nov. 15.
- Don鈥檛 allow bears to become comfortable around your house. If you see one, haze it by yelling, throwing things at it and making loud noises to scare it off.
- Secure compost piles. Bears are attracted to the scent of rotting food.
- Clean the grill after each use, and clean up thoroughly after cookouts.
- If you have fruit trees, don't allow the fruit to rot on the ground
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