Bear Country Humans Must Help Keep Animals Wild: Agent

GOLDEN, CO – Summer has bear-ly started and already the City of Golden has warned residents to take steps to keep wildlife in the wild, and not eating out of human trashcans or bird feeders.

"When we see bears in the trash we don’t blame the bears, we blame the people," said Jerrie McKee, district wildife manager for Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Sightings in Golden are not uncommon, McKee said, as the most rural areas of town are in or next to "bear country." Already at least two sightings have been reported to local police, the city said.

She advised not to wait until bears were actually showing up before securing garbage and removing other sources of food.

"A lot of folks will say, 'They haven’t hit my trashcan yet,' but you're really setting this bear up to become a problem bear. If all 1,500 people in your town do that, that bear's already ruined," she said.

Last year CPW relocated a bear in Golden that had become to accustomed to garbage feeding, she said.

"It's not easy to relocate, because other agencies don't necessarily want your bear," she said. Older bears immediately try to return to their home, and some get hit by cars or end up being "shot with 22s," she said.

In 2015, an injured older female bear, missing a front foot, was spotted multiple times getting closer and closer to more populated areas. The agency euthanized her.

"She was in such bad shape, livng off trash in the city was all she could do. She couldn’t climb or forage," McKee said. "With these bears who are struggling, with an old injury, or who have been hit by a car, hitting trash cans is easy," she said.

Bear season runs from Easter to Thanksgiving, and picks up in late fall when the animals are in their "hyperphagia" stage, eating 20 hours a day to pack on the calories before they hibernate.

Usually, bears are eating harder, more nutritionally rich foods at that time, especially acorns, McKee said. If there are drought conditions, or a bad season for acorns, bears show up looking for garbage, she said.

If you see bears in Golden, make noise and haze them, McKee said, but don't put yourself in danger.

Leave the area and call the city's non-emergency dispatch at 303-384-8045 to report the sighting.

The Golden Police Department will hold a special Golden Safety Academy on Animal Safety on Tuesday in the Golden City Hall Council Chambers, 911 10th St. Classes the second Monday of the month are free.

Animal control and code enforcement officers will be discussing safety for pets and humans in mountain areas.

"We live in Bear Country even though it is a quiet suburb of Denver," said Golden Special Enforcement Unit Supervisor, Officer Jamie Segal. He said the city gets calls for about five bear sightings a year and that number has remained pretty constant. Be already this year, two bear sightings have been reported.

Find out more here.

Image via City of Golden