The number of bear reports was down slightly across Colorado and down significantly in Pitkin County in 2020 compared with the prior year, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The agency received 4,943 bear reports statewide last year compared with 5,369 in 2019. Wildlife officers euthanized 120 bears in Colorado last year and relocated another 89 because of conflicts with humans. Both actions were up from the numbers in 2019. Bear “reports” cover everything from attacks to simple sightings in the woods.
In Pitkin County, the number of reports fell drastically to 454 in 2020 from 948 the prior year, according to Randy Hampton, Northwest Region public information officer.
“Pitkin County didn’t get hit as hard as far as drought impacts,” Hampton said Wednesday. Natural food sources were more bountiful in the Roaring Fork Valley than in many other parts of the state, he said. Therefore, bears might not have been seeking human food sources as desperately in the valley.
Bear encounters with people were down in 2020, with trash being left in unsecured containers blamed for the bulk of them, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said.
Nearly 4,943 reports about bears were filed in 2020 compared to 5,369 in 2019. Of the 4,943 encounters, a third were trash-related. While the number of encounters dropped, bears’ habituation to humans is a major concern for Colorado Parks and Wildlife because encounters can lead to more bears being euthanized.
“The goal of every wildlife officer in Colorado is to perpetuate the wildlife resource, not eliminate it,” Matt Yamashita, area wildlife manager for Glenwood Springs, Aspen and Vail area, said in a Colorado Parks and Wildlife Q&A.
A third of bear-human conflicts in 2020 were caused by trash, CPW says
Colorado Parks and Wildlife says human trash continues to be the main cause of conflicts, accounting for 1,661 of the nearly 5,000 recorded incidents last year. Author: Wilson Beese (9NEWS) Updated: 12:01 PM MST February 3, 2021
COLORADO, USA Just over a third of all conflicts between humans and bears in 2020 were connected to human trash, Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) said on Wednesday.
Of the 4,943 bear reports received last year, CPW said 1,661 involved trash as a documented attractant.
Some of the other main causes of conflicts reported in 2020 were bird feeders (411 reports), livestock (391 reports) and unsecured chicken coops (254 reports).
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RBC | Wildlife managers, biologists, and researchers from Colorado Parks and Wildlife are gearing up for a busy winter season. During the winter months, CPW will be using helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to capture and classify big game species.
Winter study work will include operations to capture, assess, and collar elk, deer and pronghorn in the Bears Ears, White River, Roaring Fork, Steamboat Springs and Middle Park areas. The elk studies are in the second year of a six-year study. CPW is capturing and collaring adult female elk and calves to assess the health of herds, estimate survival rates, identify major sources of mortality, and evaluate the influence of human recreation on elk herds. Mule deer studies are conducted annually to assess survival rates and monitor seasonal movements. A pronghorn movement study will begin in Middle Park this winter. CPW will capture and collar 40 female pronghorn to assess migration patterns, herd connectivity, and seaso