Mother bear dies after ranger shoots it with birdshot

Larimer County Natural Resources will look into its policies regarding hazing wildlife after a ranger inadvertently killed a mother bear.

The incident started June 2 in Hermit Park Open Space, just southeast of Estes Park, when a mom and two black bear cubs were behaving strangely at the Larimer County campground and open space around midday June 2, said visitor services manager Ken Brink Jr., the department's visitor services manager.

By about 7:15 p.m., the sow and its two cubs had become acquainted with campers who were renting one of the campground’s cabins. The campers sat at a picnic table and watched the bears for awhile but retreated to their cabin once the bears got too close.

More:RMNP officials seek to ease 'good problem' of too many visitors

The bears stuck around, wandering up to the cabin’s porch and peering in the windows before beginning to scratch and sniff around the door.

For several hours, the bears continued to explore the campground. They got into a cooler and came within a few feet of a couple of campers sitting around a campfire. Dogs barked and people yelled as Larimer County rangers tried to deter the bears with air horns, pots and pans and bear spray.

Nothing worked.

The bear sow in particular “seemed very unusually comfortable being around people,” said Brink, who noted black bears usually steer clear of humans. “And that paired with the fact that the bear had young was a pretty stressful situation for the staff.”

During the ruckus, a few camping groups left. After three hours of unsuccessful hazing, a ranger loaded a shotgun with birdshot and shot at the bear sow in an attempt to scare it from the campground.

The following morning, the bear sow was seen exploring the campground again. Rangers later  found the bear sow apparently sleeping on a rock in the campground as its cubs hung out in a tree, but when the bear sow didn’t respond to rubber buckshot, they realized it had died.

Animals:Feeding squirrels now legal in Loveland

A Colorado Parks and Wildlife necropsy found the bear died as a result of shotgun blasts with penetrating small pellets to its left side, CPW spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said. Birdshot comes in various size pellets.

The ranger who shot the bear self-reported and was “very remorseful,” Churchill said. He won’t face criminal charges and remains on staff with the county, although in a “slightly different role,” Brink said.

CPW “doesn’t recommend” shooting bears with birdshot but does recommend hazing to discourage bears from hanging around populated areas, Churchill said.

The bear’s death will likely inspire new policies for the department, Brink said.

That’s because the county doesn’t have a specific procedure for dealing with “unusually habituated” bears that don’t respond to usual hazing tactics.

Shooting a bear with birdshot is “not really our exact protocol,” Brink said.

“But to be fair to the employee, our protocol is not written anywhere,” he said. “We’ve had verbal direction between (Colorado Parks and Wildlife) and our staff, but sometimes we maybe haven’t gotten into specifics enough.”

The bear’s death was a tough situation for county rangers, who care deeply about wildlife but are first and foremost tasked with protecting the public, Brink said. He added the department we look into improving its policy.

“It’s hard for me to imagine a situation where the outcome for this sow would’ve been any different,” Brink said, adding most wildlife managers would’ve likely opted to euthanize a bear that wasn’t responding to hazing techniques.

Region:Flood-damaged Inn of Glen Haven finally ready to reopen

Brink plans to work with CPW this fall to draft a short set of policy guidelines for safely handling animals and wildlife in unique situations – an elk with a broken leg, a lost dog on a campground, an unusually bold bear.

CPW has a wide array of wildlife policies, including many related to bears, but Brink said he wants to draft something more specific for bears to avoid future deaths.

He couldn’t recall a previous incident like the one at Hermit Park, although he said the open space sees more human-bear encounters than all the county’s other open spaces combined.

“There are just a lot of black bears in that area in general,” he said.

The county is also working to secure grant money for bear-proof boxes at all open space campsites, which deter bears from getting into garbage. Bear boxes cost about $300 to $400 each, Brink said.

CPW staff picked up the two bear cubs at Hermit Park and sent them to rehabilitation, where they’ll spend some time in captivity before being released.

Campers can prevent human-bear interactions by keeping their food and trash secured and not bringing scented items to campsites. 

More:CSU meats center draws ire of animal rights activists

Bear-proof tips

• Always keep your food within arm's reach and don't turn your back to your food.
• In some parks, food may be stored inside your car as long as it is out of sight, with windows completely closed, and only during daylight hours; never store food in a pickup truck bed or strapped to the outside of a vehicle. In other parks, all food must be removed from your vehicle and stored in lockers. Remember to clear your car of food wrappers, crumbs in baby seats, baby wipes and even canned food and drinks.
• Secure your food, garbage and other scented items immediately upon arriving at your campsite.
• Do not store food in your tent or backpack.
• Wash dirty dishes immediately.
• Do not attempt to burn excess food, tea bags or coffee grounds in a fire. Burning organic matter completely requires a fire hotter than most campfires. Partially burned matter will still draw wildlife into camps.

Source: National Park Service