Be Bear Aware
Do Your Part to Keep Bears Wild
Welcome to Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Living with Bears online resource center. You’ll find lots of information on living, vacationing, and spending time outdoors in bear country. Plus, practical guidelines that will help you do your part to prevent human-bear conflicts, and keep bears wild.
Today, bears are sharing space with a growing human population. Curious, intelligent, and very resourceful, black bears will explore all possible food sources. If they find food near homes, campgrounds, vehicles, or communities, they’ll come back for more. Bears will work hard to get the calories they need, and can easily damage property, vehicles, and homes. Bears that become aggressive in their pursuit of an easy meal must often be destroyed.
Every time we’re forced to destroy a bear, it’s not just the bear that loses. We all lose a little piece of the wildness that makes Colorado so special. So please, get the information you need, and share it with your friends, neighbors, and community. If you need more, we’re here to help!
Get in the habit of being bear-responsible. It’s like recycling — at first it’s a little extra effort, but soon it becomes a better way to live. And you can be proud you’re helping to make Colorado a better place for people and bears.
- Don’t feed bears, and don’t put out food for other wildlife that attracts bears.
- Be responsible about trash and bird feeders.
- Burn food off barbeque grills and clean after each use.
- Keep all bear-accessible windows and doors closed and locked, including home, garage and vehicle doors.
- Don’t leave food, trash, coolers, air fresheners or anything that smells in your vehicle.
- Pick fruit before it ripens, and clean up fallen fruit.
- Talk to your neighbors about doing their part to be bear-responsible.
If You See a Bear If a bear comes near your home, do your best to chase it away. Yell, blow a whistle, clap your hands, and make other loud noises. But never approach a bear.
Article By: Colorado Parks and Wildlife