A mama bear was killed by a sheriff deputy’s beanbag round in an “unfortunate” accident in southwestern Colorado, officials told news outlets.
The mother bear and her two cubs had become a fixture in the town of Silverton until she was accidentally killed , Colorado Public Radio reported, citing deputies.
It happened the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 3, in an alley downtown, multiple outlets reported. Several people called 911 to report someone harassing a bear, officials told news outlets.
When a San Juan County Sheriff’s deputy arrived, they said the bear had climbed onto a roof, her cubs had ended up on a utility pole and a crowd of people had gathered in the narrow alley below, Colorado Public Radio reported.
Someone had sent a video showing the harassment to the deputy, KUSA reported. It shows someone walking down the side of the alley as bystanders told him to get away from the bears — and was captioned: “Here is (redacted) grabbing a baby bear,” the sheriff’s office told the station.
The deputy told people to go back inside and asked the person accused of harassing the bears to go home five times, the station reported.
Then the deputy fired a beanbag round at the bear to get her down off the roof, the sheriff’s office told the Denver Post.
The rounds are considered “less-lethal” and are used to haze or scare wildlife away from an area, the Durango Herald reported.
As the mama bear led her cubs down the block, the deputy fired another beanbag round to keep her moving, the Denver Post reported, citing the sheriff’s office. Instead, the round pierced the bear’s lower abdomen and killed her, deputies told the outlet.
“The officer involved was acting accordingly, using commonly practiced methods, and attempting to save this bear’s life, not cause any serious harm,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement sent to several outlets. “This is a most unfortunate incident, and our entire office is saddened by the outcome.”
Wildlife officers spent the night trying to capture the cubs, the Durango Herald reported. Once they did, officers determined the orphaned cubs were healthy enough to be immediately be released together in the wild.
“These cubs were in good body condition, at a great weight for this time of year and released to a place with ample natural forage to continue to pack on weight ahead of denning this winter,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson John Livingston told the Denver Post.
The cubs were about 60 pounds, and releasing them into “wildlife-friendly habitat” instead of a rehabilitation facility will limit human contact, which Livingston told Colorado Public Radio was part of the problem with these bears in the first place after they had been spotted in town somewhat regularly.
“Too often when these bears get comfortable in these areas, the outcome is a sad one,” he told the station.
The sheriff’s office is investigating the incident and whether charges will be recommended for the person accused of harassing the bears, several outlets reported.
In a statement sent to KUSA, Silverton Mayor Dayna Kranker stressed the importance of educating residents and visitors about wildlife.
“Our community mourns a tragic outcome for a local mama bear,” the statement says. “This outcome was avoidable and we can all work together to better protect the local wildlife that we share a home with.”
Silverton is about a 350-mile drive southwest from Colorado Springs.
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