Bears sightings and attacks have spiked in Colorado communities this summer, including Northern Colorado, as hungry bears head from the foothills and mountains, where food is scarce due to the drought, to urban areas, where they fill up on garbage, bird feeders and apples.
“Everyone, everywhere is having a lot of bear problems,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose told the Coloradoan. “Worst bear year we’ve ever had.”
There have been seven bear attacks of people this year, Van Hoose said, the latest Aug. 27 when a bear broke into an Estes Park home and injured an 80-year-old woman. Van Hoose said over the last 10 years, the state has averaged three attacks per year with some years having zero attacks and other years having as many as six or seven attacks.
Bear reports typically top out in July and August when bears spend up to 20 hours a day looking for food, a behavior called hyperphagia, before winter hibernation. But this year’s drought has greatly reduced bears’ main natural food — berries, fruit, grasses and nuts, forcing an increased number of bears to search for food in cities and towns.
That has been reflected with the large volume of bear videos and photos taken in neighborhoods, including in Fort Collins, and posted on social media.
As of Aug. 28, there were 7,000-plus statewide bear reports, well more than double the average this time last year. Van Hoose said those numbers don’t reflect the actual number because officers have been so inundated responding to bear calls that they haven’t been able to file all the reports.
Larimer County reflects the statewide surge in bear reports. As of Aug. 27, the county counted 404 reports, up from 102 during the same time frame in 2025, Van Hoose said.
There have been five bears relocated in Larimer County, including one from the campus of Colorado State University, and 92 bear relocations statewide as of late August, according to Van Hoose.
The number of bears the state wildlife agency has euthanized this year due to public safety concerns won’t be released until the agency’s annual bear report this winter, Van Hoose said.
“Our preference is just for bears to move out by themselves,” Van Hoose said. “If it appears they are not able to or they are not going to leave an area after a few days and there is a safety risk, we will relocate them.”
The state wildlife agency estimates the black bear population in Colorado at 17,000 to 20,000.
The state wildlife agency strongly encourages people to take down birdfeeders, securely store food in locked areas, lock home, garage and vehicle doors and clean barbeque grills so as not to attract bears.
Colorado passed a new Negligently Luring Bears law that went into effect in mid-August that lowered the requirement from “intentional” to “knowingly” placing food and waste that could lure bears, repealed the requirement that a first offense would result in a warning and raised the fine for a third or subsequent offense from $2,000 to $5,000.
This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: Colorado faces record year for bear attacks
Reporting by Miles Blumhardt, Fort Collins Coloradoan / Fort Collins Coloradoan
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
