Interesting video of Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers using rubber buckshot to haze a troublesome black bear as it was be released back into the wild on Wednesday after it was found in Highlands Ranch. The rounds are non-lethal and used to reinforce fear of humans in the bear. The bear had been displaying an indifference to human presence, according to CPW. To avoid further incidence of human bear interaction find out how to be Bear Aware below:
Releasing the bear that was relocated out of Highlands Ranch Wednesday. Officers haze the bear with rubber buckshot while letting it go in an attempt to reinforce a fear of humans in it. The bear had been displaying an indifference to human presence.https://t.co/9ZGhk8AJ6J pic.twitter.com/3Wniwu7hKW
— CPW NE Region (@CPW_NE) July 1, 2021
Wildlife officers remind the public to be bear aware:
- Keep garages, windows and cars locked at night. Install extra sturdy doors if you have a refrigerator, pet food, bird seed or other attractants in your garage.
- Don’t leave trash out overnight unless you have bear-proof receptacles. Bears have an extremely strong sense of smell (they can follow scents from up to five miles away) and will easily get into trash if they are able to.
- Teach bears they are not welcome. If a bear approaches your home or yard, yell, clap your hands, bang pots or pans or use an airhorn to scare it away (from a safe distance of course).
- CPW recommends only using bird feeders when bears aren’t active. However, if you would like to use bird feeders year-round, CPW recommends keeping them at least 10 feet in the air and at least 10 feet away from anything that a bear could climb to reach it.