Local bears putting garbage on menu
This is the time of year when bears enter neighborhoods to raid garbage and trash bins but an expert said the weather may be increasing that activity.
Philip Gurule, a district manager with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said a wetter-than-normal year, hailstorms and a late spring freeze decreased many of the berries and acorns used by bears as natural food sources.
“Bears are taking on extra calories to build more fat for winter hibernation,” Gurule said. “When they’re in town, they look for dog food, trash, birdseed. They’re looking for the easy meal.”
Gurule said Tuesday’s discovery of a bear cub with a plastic food jar stuck on its head should remind people to secure trash and garbage from bears and other animals.
“The jar had protein powder in it,” he said. “And it was chocolate, which really smells good to bears. It’s like honey to them.”
Firefighters used medical shears to cut the jar off, then returned the cub to find its mother.
Gurule said even metal containers designed to secure trash aren’t completely effective against bears.
“But at least it’ll make them work harder to get into it,” he said.
Two years ago, a security camera at the Edelweiss Restaurant recorded a bear making nightly visits to the dumpsters.
Wildlife authorities recently euthanized a bear and are trying to trap and relocate others who were illegally fed by a woman. Authorities are concerned the bears may pose a threat to people.
A man who lives near where the cub was found, said he opposes euthanization and relocation.
“The bears were here before we were,” said Tommy Gallagher. “A garbage can, can be easily tipped over. So if we’re asking, penalizing the bears for that, I think that’s wrong.”
