DENVER (KDVR) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is asking Coloradans to be “Bear Aware” as bears start to emerge from hibernation.
“Each year, bears are lost in our state due solely to human negligence. Living with wildlife is a benefit to living in Colorado, and it’s up to all of us to take small steps that can save a bear’s life,” wrote Colorado Parks and Wildlife Communications Manager Rebecca Ferrell.
Here are some tips from CPW:
- Keep garages, windows and cars locked at night. Install extra sturdy doors if you have a refrigerator, pet food, bird seed or other attractants in your garage.
- Don’t leave trash out overnight unless you have bear-proof receptacles. Bears have an extremely strong sense of smell (they can follow scents from up to five miles away) and will easily get into trash if they are able to.
- Teach bears they are not welcome. If a bear approaches your home or yard, yell, clap your hands, bang pots or pans or use an airhorn to scare it away (from a safe distance of course).
- CPW recommends only using bird feeders when bears aren’t active. However, if you would like to use bird feeders year-round, CPW recommends keeping them at least 10 feet in the air and at least 10 feet away from anything that a bear could climb to reach it.
For more tips on how to be “Bear Aware,” visit https://cpw.state.co.us/bears.