State wildlife officials report over 130% increase in bear-human reported incidents so far this year compared to 2025

STATEWIDE, Colo. (KRDO) -- Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) says bear-human incident reports are up 135% compared to the first eight months of last year.

According to CPW, officials have seen a large increase in bear reports from the public. CPW says wildlife officers are working to manage and limit human-bear interactions, but are also using relocation and euthanasia options for bears that have been hit by vehicles, are found in poor health, have attacked humans or have entered structures.

CPW says it releases a full set of bear-human incidents in its 2027 final report, but is sharing preliminary numbers now as the public's interest in the interactions is high.

According to CPW, human-bear incidents have gone up 135%. Through August of this year, CPW says there has been 8,672 reports of bear-related sightings or incidents. Through August of 2025, there were only 3,680.

98 bears have been relocated, compared to 33 bears through August of 2025. That is a 196% increase.

CPW says it has euthanized 294 bears, compared to 83 bears euthanized through August of last year, an over 250% increase.

According to CPW, while these numbers have increased from annual reports over the last five years, they say their agency response has been proportional to the number of incidents. They say overall, the number of reported incidents in 2026 so far is over three times the current five-year average.

CPW is reminding residents and visitors of the state to stay "BearWise" as they continue to seek more calories before the winter months.

More information is available on CPW's website.

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