Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) announced on Tuesday that a man had been attacked by a bear in Boulder on September 6. Around 11 p.m., the man was walking his two dogs on-leash along High Street and a bear, with a cub nearby, charged the man and his dogs, according to CPW. The man tripped over the dogs’ leashes, and the bear scratched the man across his back. The injuries were described as superficial.
CPW said that when they investigated the scene, they found an “overturned trash can and evidence of bear activity.”
“Colorado Parks and Wildlife is reminding Boulder residents to take extra precautions during bear hyperphagia,” the department said. “While they prepare to enter torpor or hibernation, bear sightings and conflicts with humans can increase during their search for food, including inside city limits.”
Boulder has a high concentration of bears due to its proximity to the mountains and natural food supply, CPW said in its news release about the incident.
Trash is the number one attractant to bears, according to CPW, and the department said that securing trash in bear-resistant cans, keeping trash locked away until the morning of pick-up, routinely locking garages, cars, and windows, and taking down birdfeeders will help reduce the likelihood of bears eating trash. “Once a bear has been rewarded with human food or trash, they will return to the area again and again to keep searching for food,” CPW said. “Bears will continue this pattern until the food source is removed.”
CPW officials were unable to locate the bear and cub involved in Saturday’s attack after “several hours of searching.” The department said that there have been multiple sows and their cubs in the area over the past few weeks, and that CPW receives the most sightings and conflict reports during this time of year because bears will eat “up to 20,000 calories per day to sustain themselves through the winter torpor period” and are more active and visible in human spaces.
“Colorado Parks and Wildlife should always be the first call when bears are spotted in town,” said Area Wildlife Manager Jason Duetsch. “The resident experiencing bear conflicts should contact CPW directly as we are able to provide education, advice and track wildlife movement in order to make more-informed management decisions. While bears are trying to bulk up for winter, it’s especially important to stay vigilant about trash so they are not rewarded with non-natural food.”
