Colorado is home to a wide range of wildlife, with the most iconic animals including mountain goats, bighorn sheep, elk and bison. The state really has just three large predators, though. Mountain lions are found most commonly in the foothills, canyons or mesa country. Wolves were recently reintroduced and have established populations in the Western Slope and central regions. Black bears are the largest carnivores in the state, calling quite a large portion of the mountains their home.
Colorado’s bear population is estimated to be around 17,000 to 20,000 animals. While the much more dangerous grizzly bears haven’t been seen in the state since 1979, residents visitors still need to be vigilant to keep black bears away from humans. Curious and hungry animals will break into vehicles, homes, and stores in search of food. This bear walked through the open door into Mountain and Company, a shop right in the heart of Steamboat Springs, exploring the store for a bit before the person behind the counter finally spotted it and scared it away.
The shop employee did a great job at handling the situation, quickly scaring away the animal with claps once he realized it was inside. Black bears rarely attack people, but they will fight back if they feel threatened. If a black bear comes near or inside your home/store, your best bet is to safely chase it away by yelling, clapping your hands (as this guy did), or making other loud noises. You should never attempt to approach the animal.
Bears that knowingly approach people are likely food conditioned and should never be fed. They’re very rarely aggressive, but it’s still vital that you stand your ground, yell, or throw small rocks to scare it away. If it continues to approach, bear spray can be used when the animal is about 40 feet away. Of course using bear spray inside can be dangerous, so attempt to scare away the animal like the guy in the video did. Read more on bear safety in Colorado below.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife Bear Guidelines:
Bears spend their day searching for any possible food sources. Once they successfully get food in a location, they will come back again hoping for another food reward.
- Do not provide any possible food or scent attractants for bears
- Store trash in your house, garage, or shed until trash day. Clean your trash can with bleach once a week to get rid of residual smells.
- Keep bird feeders out of reach of bears with a pulley system that keeps the feeder 10 feet off ground and 10 feet away from trees or climbable structures.
- Do not store pet food or feed pets outside.
- Clean grills after use, clean out grease traps.
- Secure bee hives and chickens with electric fencing.
- Be vigilant when leaving your house in the morning or evening. Make noise as you leave to let a bear know you are coming. If they hear you they will usually leave the area.
- If a bear will not leave, do not approach it. From a safe location, make some noise and throw things at it. If the bear will not leave, call your local wildlife office.
- Call your local wildlife office and report bear incidents. Wildlife officers can do site checks to help you secure your specific property.
- If a bear enters your home, open doors and windows and make sure it can leave the same way it got in. Don’t approach the bear, corner the bear or block escape routes. Call 911.
- If you see a bear hanging around your neighborhood or property, call your local Colorado Parks and Wildlife office to report it.
- Flashing lights, noise makers, alarms and sprinkler systems may startle bears and cause them to leave the area. Products that randomly produce a different noise each time they’re activated or have lights that flash in different patterns may be more effective than something with repetition.
- Leaving a radio tuned to a talk show can make it sound like someone is home and may persuade bears to leave the area. If you’ll be gone for an extended period of time, you can put a radio on a timer.
- Spraying bear spray on things you’d like bears to avoid doesn’t work — when the spray dries, the pepper residue left behind mellows out and creates odors that can actually attract bears.
- People have had some success with covered buckets or other containers filled with bleach or ammonia, with holes punched in the lids to let the scent out, placed outside bear-accessible doors and windows. Never mix bleach and ammonia; the combination produces fumes that can be deadly to both people and bears. Be careful with ammonia and bleach; it can blind bears.
- Unwelcome mats are typically made of sheets of sturdy plywood that have been carefully studded with small nails pointing up that can be placed in front of bear-accessible doors and windows. It’s very important that unwelcome mats be made, installed and used properly to avoid injuring bears, humans and pets..
