JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Residents in the Front Range can expect to see more bear activity as the hibernation season nears.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife reports more than 3,000 bear encounters so far this year. That number is expected to increase as bears now require more than 20,000 calories a day to prepare for the winter months.
“This is the period of time we call hyperphagia, so it’s when they try to eat as much as they can to sustain themselves through their winter sleep,” said CPW spokesperson Kara Van Hoose.
Stuart Sauer tells FOX31 he often sees bears twice a day at his Jefferson County home, but was shocked to see a huge bear pulling his 500-pound trailer toward an embankment.
“A bear has pulled the trailer down the hillside. There was a trash can attached to it to keep the bear from pulling the trash can down the hillside and it pulled them both down,” said Sauer.
CPW tells FOX31 that bears prefer natural foods, but will eat just about anything they can find, so food and garbage should be secured properly at campsites.
“We’re really trying to encourage them to find their natural food sources like choke cherries and berries and nuts,” said Van Hoose.
CPW says homeowners and campers should make plenty of noise if a bear approaches.
“Haze the bear and this is just making them uncomfortable in human spaces. It’s using lights and sounds, things you can find around your house, like an air horn or just pots and pans banging those together, loud music — something like that,” said Van Hoose.
CPW says if you see a bear while hiking, start to back away slowly, look as big as you can, do not turn your back on the bear and do not run.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
