Officials warn public about 'hot and heavy' bear activity in Colorado

The season of hyperphagia is still months away and officials are already concerned about a spike in human-bear interactions that have been taking place in southwest Colorado.

“We are having to handle a lot of bears right now,” said Colorado Parks and Wildlife Area Wildlife Manager Adrian Archuleta of Durango. “It’s been hot and heavy here for the last two or three weeks, and it’s not showing signs of slowing down.

According to officials, wildlife officers in the Durango area have had to set "significantly" more traps compared to this point last year. It's also worth noting that bears are most active during late summer and fall when they're in their 'hyperphagia' phase, fattening up for winter months.

"We always want to intervene before it’s necessary to set a trap, but too often we are getting reports weeks after the initial conflict and once problems escalate to the point where human health and safety is at risk,” Archuleta said. “If we can get reports the first time there is an incident, we can proactively work to educate, remove attractants and give advice on securing attractants so that a trap may not need to be set.”

Officials also noted that the increased number of encounters are taking place despite a relatively moist spring and summer, which typically would mean that animals are able to find plenty of natural food sources prior to turning to human attractants, such as trash.

Juvenile bears have been particularly problematic, likely due to not having established their own territory yet, thus turning to civilization for food.

“Incidents start with a bear getting into one cooler at a campground, and then a few weeks later, we have a bear getting into a tent or leaning on hard-sided campers,” Archuleta said. “Or you have a bear that gets into trash, pet food left outside or a bird feeder, and then a week later, bears are getting through screen doors and windows or walking into a house through an opened sliding door. The incidents people think are small – like that cooler or pet food – lead to behavior that presents a danger to human health and safety.”

A key part of preventing human-bear interactions is taking steps to avoid attracting bears to a campsite or property. Keep trash and other food sources inaccessible and never store scented items in a tent. Scented items include food, but also products like chapstick and sunscreen.

“We’ve had a lot of food-source issues so far,” said CPW Area Wildlife Manager Rachel Sralla out of Montrose. “We are really encouraging people to protect hobby livestock, even when it’s close to a home, with electric fencing. Electricity is an excellent bear deterrent. Electric mats or ‘unwelcome mats’ can help keep bears out of unattended cabins and homes.”

Bird feeders are an often-overlooked attractant that can draw bears into a residential area. Coloradans should only have bird feeders out in the winter and into early spring, prior to when bears rise from hibernation.

“When you live in bear habitat, there should be an obligation to mitigate conflict. It’s not asking too much to get rid of or bring in bird feeders at night, including hummingbird feeders,” said Kevin Bryan, the District Wildlife Manager in Cedarredge. “Multiple people I have spoken with this year appear to not realize that bears are attracted to hummingbird feeders. Of course, trash remains our state's No. 1 cause of human-bear conflict. Making sure you are securing your trash and not putting it out on the curb until the morning of pickup is always the most important thing you can do."

It's also important that the public reports encounters with bears when they do occur. Authorities assured the public that most reports don't end with euthanization. Of the 3,526 reports in 2023, 1.8 percent resulted in the bear's death. Bear reports can be made here .

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