Hungry bear trashes Colorado home and bursts through garage — twice. See the wreckage
A hungry bear perfectly illustrated why wildlife officials are so adamant about securing trash in Colorado, photos and videos show.
The bear repeatedly wreaked havoc among homes in a Colorado Springs neighborhood, and even busted through a resident’s garage door — twice, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Southeast Region said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“We @COParksWildlife warn not to let a bear get habituated to people and lose its natural fear of us,” the agency said in the Aug. 7 post. “Carol Rice and her neighbors just outside #ColoradoSprings are finding out why we worry so.”
The agency shared a video of the bear bursting into the resident’s garage through the windows, making quite a ruckus in the process.
“Habituated bears have cost Rice two garage doors recently,” the agency said. “See her video. Sound up.”
The first time the bear bursts into the garage, it walks in toward Rice, then turns and leaves out the same window it had just busted through after she says “hey.” Officials don’t say when the bear got in the second time, but video shows it sniffing around the same location underneath the garage door window before it reaches up to it.
“Bears are naturally afraid of humans and avoid us and our homes unless they learn … humans are a source of food,” the agency said. “Then they become aggressive and potentially dangerous. They will go up to a house, rip open windows and doors to get food. This is not natural bear behavior.”
Another video shows the bear strolling through a yard, right up to the patio and leaning over the railing to sniff around.
“It’s right there on the patio,” the resident says as they record. They jiggle the door and the bear backs off.
“We urge everyone to bring in bird feeders each evening, secure garbage, pet food and other attractants away from animals,” the agency says. “Clean (your) barbecue grills after each use. Bears have powerful noses and are extremely strong animals. Check out what this bear does to Carol Rice’s grill.”
The video shows the bear toppling the grill and reaching its snout under the cover and yanking out the propane tank to investigate the smelly object for any food.
Photos show busted windows on two separate garage doors, as well as trash strewn around a yard where the bear had broken into a storage shed.
“Here’s the damage done to a neighbor’s property,” the agency said. “Once a bear (learns) to enter a garage or home, it becomes an immediate threat to human health and safety.”
The agency shared its web page containing information on coexisting with bears.
“Help CPW prevent bears from becoming habituated. Be Bear Aware,” the agency said. “Remember, garbage kills bears!”
Someone commented on the post asking what would happen to the bear.
“This makes me so sad because that bear is now in danger due to human negligence,” they said. “Will it be relocated? Or has the breaking and entering behavior…? (No judgment from me either answer, I get it. It just makes me sad for the bear.)”
The agency responded saying there’s no solution.
“Any bear that will rip open a door or garage on a house is an imminent threat to human safety,” officials said. “Unfortunately, there’s no place we can release that bear where it won’t encounter homes and garages.”
The person who asked the question said they figured as much, but were hoping to maintain some optimism.
“Poor guy … all because of us,” they said. “I’m sorry you guys have to deal with this (and the homeowners have the damage it inflicted to their homes!).”
Wildlife officials say they’ve noticed a “considerable increase in human-bear conflict” in July, which is much earlier than expected, officials said in a July 26 news release.
Many bear species enter a stage known as hyperphagia in late summer and fall, when they eat and drink almost nonstop to prepare for hibernation.
The “worrisome trend” of earlier and more frequent conflicts — amid good natural food and moisture conditions — has been most noticeable in southwest Colorado on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, but it’s occurring across the state as well, officials said.
“The early conflicts already reported have wildlife managers concerned about the forecast for upcoming months,” officials said.
One issue officials said they’re aware of is people either waiting to report bear activity or avoiding it altogether because they believe it will lead to the bear being put down.
“Data shows that of the 3,526 reports wildlife managers received on bears in 2023, only 1.8% led to euthanization,” officials said. “The vast majority of conflict reports led to wildlife officers getting involved early enough to intervene, reduce conflict and prevent the need to euthanize a bear.”
According to the agency, the best way to bear-proof your home is to:
Keep garbage secured, either inside or in a bear-proof location, and only put it outside on the morning of pickup.
Use ammonia or another effective chemical to clean garbage cans regularly and keep them free of food odors that attract bears.
Keep garage doors closed, and don’t leave pet food or stock feed outside.
Use bear-resistant trash cans or dumpsters.
Avoid hanging bird feeders from April 15 to Nov. 15 and instead attract birds naturally with flowers and water baths. “Bird feeders are a major source of bear/human conflicts.”
Don’t let bears get too comfortable being around your house. If you do see one, scare it off (haze it) by yelling, throwing things at it and making loud noises.
The scent of rotting food attracts bears, so secure compost piles.
Clean grills after every single use, and clean thoroughly after cookouts.
Don’t allow fruit from fruit trees to rot on the ground.
Talk to neighbors and kids about taking precautions to avoid attracting bears.
This story was originally published August 9, 2024 at 7:32 AM with the headline "Hungry bear trashes Colorado home and bursts through garage — twice. See the wreckage."
