CPW relocates family of bears caught "pushing the limit a bit more each day"

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) recently relocated a family of bears, a sow, and her three cubs after the animals had become too comfortable exploring Durango.

Human food sources, like unsecured trash, had drawn the bears into town, where they were getting into trouble and "pushing the limit a bit more each day," according to an X post from CPW. The bears needed to be moved out of town and away from residential areas.

The bears were tranquilized so they could be fitted with ear tags and undergo a health exam. The sow was estimated to be between four and eight years old.

After that, officers drove 85 miles to release the bears into what CPW considers the "best bear habitat in the state where we almost never hear of these bears again."

CPW took the incident as an opportunity to remind people to do their part to prevent bears from having to be trapped and relocated in the first place. Bears are entering hyperphagia, where they will spend 20 hours a day searching for and eating as much food as possible to fatten up for winter. This phase makes it especially important at this time to remove attractants from outside homes and campsites.

Read more about hyperphagia and what bears eat in a day here .

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