Keep bears wild: Remember to be ‘bear aware’

Posted
2020/08/BB-Bear-Bird-300x236.gif Photo courtesy George Hunyadi
This bear was spotted earlier this month in the Chromo area.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) offers a reminder that by taking some simple precautions, you can avoid human/wildlife conflicts and help to keep bears wild. 

Here are helpful tips to prevent conflicts:

• Keep garbage in a well-secured location. 

• Only put out garbage on the morning of pickup. 

• Clean garbage cans regularly to keep them odor-free.

• Use a bear-resistant trash can or dumpster; available from your trash hauler or on the Internet.

• If you don’t have secure storage, put items that might become smelly into the freezer until trash day.

• Don’t leave pet food or stock feed outside.

• Bird feeders are a major source of bear/human conflicts. Attract birds naturally with flowers and water baths. Do not hang bird feeders from April 15 to Nov. 15.

• If you must have bird feeders: clean up beneath them every day, bring them in at night and hang them high so that they’re completely inaccessible to bears.

• Do not attract other wildlife by feeding them, such as deer, turkeys or small mammals.

• Don’t allow bears to become comfortable around your house. If you see one, yell at them, throw things at them, make noise to scare them off.

• Secure compost piles. Bears are attracted to the scent of rotting food — and they’ll eat anything.

• Bears have good memories and will return to places they’ve found food.

• Allow grills to burn for a couple of minutes after cooking to burn off grease and to eliminate odors. Clean the grill after each use.

• Clean up thoroughly after picnics in the yard or on the deck. Don’t allow food odors to linger.

• If you have fruit trees, pick fruit before it gets too ripe. Don’t allow fruit to rot on the ground.

• Keep garage doors closed. 

• Lock your doors when you’re away from home and at night.

• Keep the bottom floor windows of your house closed when you’re not at home. 

• Do not keep food in your vehicle; roll up windows and lock the doors of your vehicles.

• When car camping, secure all food and coolers in a locked vehicle after you’ve eaten.

• Keep a clean camp, whether you’re in a campground or in the backcountry.

• When camping in the backcountry, hang food 100 feet or more from your campsite; don’t bring any food into your tent.

• Cook food well away from your tent; wash dishes thoroughly.

• Talk to your neighbors and kids about being bear aware.

• If you keep small livestock, keep animals in a fully covered enclosure that is electrified. Don’t store stock food outside, keep enclosures clean to minimize odors, hang rags soaked in ammonia and/or Pine-Sol around the enclosure.

• If you have beehives, install electric fencing where allowed.

For more information, go to the Living with Wildlife section on the CPW website: cpw.state.co.us.