YOUR AD HERE »

Aspen bear killed at site of earlier attack

Colorado Division of Wildlife Officers on Wednesday night killed a bear at the site of an attack on a homeowner 48 hours earlier. Wildlife officers monitoring the property where the attack occurred encountered a large, male black bear matching the description of the aggressive bear from the Monday night incident.

 “We placed our personnel at the scene of the earlier attack knowing that bears are highly likely to return to the places where they have previously found food,” said Perry Will, DOW Area Wildlife Manager. “Because the bear had eaten some food after breaking into the home Monday, the hunch paid off and the bear returned to the home at almost the same time of night as the original incident.”

 Wildlife officers saw the bear near a trap that had been placed on the property at approximately 10:30 p.m. The trap was ineffective at capturing the bear and the bear wandered the property for a short time. Wildlife officers approached the bear to make a positive identification. Based on the matching description and the fact that the bear exhibited no fear of people, the bear was shot and killed.



 “I’m convinced, based on my training and experience, that this is the bear responsible for the Monday night incident,” said Will.

 Meanwhile, Aspen Police were called to several other incidents Wednesday night where bears were forcing their way into homes. Aspen area residents are reminded to take care of bear attractants such as trash, pet food, barbecue grills, birdfeeders and fruit trees. Information about how to live responsibly in bear habitat is available on the Division of Wildlife website at http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/LivingWithWildlife/Mammals/LivingWithBearsL1.htm.


Support Local Journalism

Support Local Journalism

The Sky-Hi News strives to deliver powerful stories that spark emotion and focus on the place we live.

Over the past year, contributions from readers like you helped to fund some of our most important reporting, including coverage of the East Troublesome Fire.

If you value local journalism, consider making a contribution to our newsroom in support of the work we do.