Site search
sponsored by
News
Sports
ENLARGE
This black bear was spotted late Thursday afternoon in Kaibab Park in Granby. Granby police officers kept an eye on it until the bear eventually came down the tree and went on its way without incident. Homeowners northwest of Granby think it may be the same animal that entered their house Sunday night through a dog door.
Be bear aware
“Trash is the biggest attractant for bears in urban areas,” says Randy Hampton, Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman. To help prevent bear incidents, follow these guidelines:
• Keep trash inside a garage or other secure area or use bear-proof receptacles
• Put trash out only on the morning of pickup
• Don't leave pet food outside
• Be sure bird feeders are located so they are out of reach of bears
• Don't leave traces of food on barbecue grills
• Never feed bears or other game animals
If you encounter a bear
If a bear gets into a garage or other enclosed space, Hampton recommends the following:
• “Leave everything open ... The goal is to get the bear out.”
• In addition to providing an easy exit, make noise and try to scare it away
• Yell at the bear to get it to move along
• Do not corner the animal or otherwise put it in a position where it perceives you as an imminent threat
• Keep trash inside a garage or other secure area or use bear-proof receptacles
• Put trash out only on the morning of pickup
• Don't leave pet food outside
• Be sure bird feeders are located so they are out of reach of bears
• Don't leave traces of food on barbecue grills
• Never feed bears or other game animals
If you encounter a bear
If a bear gets into a garage or other enclosed space, Hampton recommends the following:
• “Leave everything open ... The goal is to get the bear out.”
• In addition to providing an easy exit, make noise and try to scare it away
• Yell at the bear to get it to move along
• Do not corner the animal or otherwise put it in a position where it perceives you as an imminent threat
A Granby-area family endured an unwanted dinner guest for about 10 minutes Sunday night when a bear entered their mud room through a dog door.
"Our dog made a strange noise — a combination between a growl and a bark," said Brenda Freeman.
When her husband went to see what was wrong and opened the mud room door, “There was a bear two feet away from him,” she said.
The startled couple shut and locked the mud room door and went into their kitchen where they could look through the window into the mud room window. It was about 10:30 p.m.
The bear explored the mud room for 10 minutes, Freeman said. He did little damage but left paw prints on the window, ate all the dog food that was out and pulled a few herbs growing in pots out of the soil, she said.
“He was very graceful, very calm,” she said. “The bear didn't seem to care about the dog barking.”
She said the couple has lived in their home about five miles from Granby off U.S. Highway 34 for seven years and never had any bear issues. However, about four years ago a mountain lion came close to the house, she said.
That incident eventually prompted the Freemans to add a dog to the family. Aniden is a Turkish Kangal, a breed used to protect sheep from wolves. The 2-year-old dog — whose name is Turkish for “pounce” — weighs about 120 pounds, Brenda said.
She said her husband told her the bear looked like the same one authorities treed for a short time in Granby's Kaibab Park on Thursday, June 11.
"We thought it was quite a coincidence," she said.
Blame the rain
The two incidents in fact may be weather-related, at least indirectly.
“It has to do with kind of the timing of Mother Nature,” said Randy Hampton, Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman.
This time of year, bears generally eat grubs and forbs and by now are gorging on berries. The problem, he said, is that the same rain making the high country look like a Pebble Beach fairway is also prolonging the flowering phase of berry bushes.
So, the berries are not yet available and the bears may be seeking alternative food sources, he said.
Although Colorado's bear population has remained stable at 8,000-12,000 animals, Hampton said they are smart and adaptable and may seem more prevalent because they are changing their habits.
“Unfortunately, we do have areas where bears are getting more educated ... about finding (human-provided) food sources,” he said.
In this instance, even though the Freemans did the right thing, he said the Granby area now has a bear who found a food reward by going through a dog door, so there's no guarantee the bear won't return or try the same thing somewhere else.
Brenda Freeman said the bear left their mud room through the dog door and “played in our fire pit.” She also said a neighbor told her the bear got into their trash.
“We're kind of in their territory; we're in their space,” Freeman said.
She said the family is now securing their trash in the garage and they have moved the dog food from the mud room into the house.
“That should solve their problem,” Hampton said.
As for those flowering berry plants and the rain, he sounded a note of caution. If it clears up and cools down sufficiently to cause a hard freeze that kills those blossoms, the berry crop could be destroyed.
If that happens, he said, “It'll be a long summer for all our wildlife officers.”
— Drew can be reached at (970) 887-3334 ext. 19610 or at dmunro@skyhidailynews.com
"Our dog made a strange noise — a combination between a growl and a bark," said Brenda Freeman.
When her husband went to see what was wrong and opened the mud room door, “There was a bear two feet away from him,” she said.
The startled couple shut and locked the mud room door and went into their kitchen where they could look through the window into the mud room window. It was about 10:30 p.m.
The bear explored the mud room for 10 minutes, Freeman said. He did little damage but left paw prints on the window, ate all the dog food that was out and pulled a few herbs growing in pots out of the soil, she said.
“He was very graceful, very calm,” she said. “The bear didn't seem to care about the dog barking.”
She said the couple has lived in their home about five miles from Granby off U.S. Highway 34 for seven years and never had any bear issues. However, about four years ago a mountain lion came close to the house, she said.
That incident eventually prompted the Freemans to add a dog to the family. Aniden is a Turkish Kangal, a breed used to protect sheep from wolves. The 2-year-old dog — whose name is Turkish for “pounce” — weighs about 120 pounds, Brenda said.
She said her husband told her the bear looked like the same one authorities treed for a short time in Granby's Kaibab Park on Thursday, June 11.
"We thought it was quite a coincidence," she said.
Blame the rain
The two incidents in fact may be weather-related, at least indirectly.
“It has to do with kind of the timing of Mother Nature,” said Randy Hampton, Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman.
This time of year, bears generally eat grubs and forbs and by now are gorging on berries. The problem, he said, is that the same rain making the high country look like a Pebble Beach fairway is also prolonging the flowering phase of berry bushes.
So, the berries are not yet available and the bears may be seeking alternative food sources, he said.
Although Colorado's bear population has remained stable at 8,000-12,000 animals, Hampton said they are smart and adaptable and may seem more prevalent because they are changing their habits.
“Unfortunately, we do have areas where bears are getting more educated ... about finding (human-provided) food sources,” he said.
In this instance, even though the Freemans did the right thing, he said the Granby area now has a bear who found a food reward by going through a dog door, so there's no guarantee the bear won't return or try the same thing somewhere else.
Brenda Freeman said the bear left their mud room through the dog door and “played in our fire pit.” She also said a neighbor told her the bear got into their trash.
“We're kind of in their territory; we're in their space,” Freeman said.
She said the family is now securing their trash in the garage and they have moved the dog food from the mud room into the house.
“That should solve their problem,” Hampton said.
As for those flowering berry plants and the rain, he sounded a note of caution. If it clears up and cools down sufficiently to cause a hard freeze that kills those blossoms, the berry crop could be destroyed.
If that happens, he said, “It'll be a long summer for all our wildlife officers.”
— Drew can be reached at (970) 887-3334 ext. 19610 or at dmunro@skyhidailynews.com
