Travel Tips & Trends

Bear

Bears on a mission

Colorado is bear country. In the fall, they're busy preparing for winter hibernation by gorging on all the food they can find—and that can lead to trouble.

"Bears are on a mission to eat as much as they can," explained Mark Caddy, district wildlife manager for the Colorado Division of Wildlife in the Telluride area. "They are built to eat, and their sense of smell is incredible. They can smell food from miles away and they'll travel to find it."

Every year bears go into campgrounds because food scraps are often left around tents and camp trailers. Problems result when bears and humans come into close contact, and bears that become habituated to human food often must be euthanized.

The Division of Wildlife offers these tips for campers in bear country:

Clean up your campsite thoroughly after every meal.
After grilling meat, allow the fire to continue until all scraps and grease are burned completely off the grill.
Store food inside locked vehicles when you are not eating or cooking.
Do not eat in your tent or keep food there.
Store scraps and garbage in a secure container or vehicle.
In the back country, hang food in a tree, well away from the campsite.

If you meet a bear, make yourself look as large as possible. Talk to it firmly and back away slowly. Don't run. Report any bears in campgrounds to the Division of Wildlife as soon as possible.

"Bears are not naturally aggressive toward humans—they are very shy creatures," Caddy said. "They get into trouble because humans leave food around. We need the public's help to make sure bears don't become accustomed to human food."