COLORADO SPRINGS — Now that warmer weather is starting to make a comeback in Colorado, that means bears will be out and about in Colorado Springs.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife says bears will be looking to eat upwards of 5,000 calories a day when they're hungry. The bears in our area haven't actually been hibernating, but have been in torpor. That's when they sleep for most of the winter but still venture out to look for food, a major reason for the high number of bear encounters in our area, CPW tells me.
"Depending on the year, we do get an increase in bear calls, last year was a little bit better for folks because we had so much moisture, so there was lots of forage for them. But if it's a dry year, we definitely have an increase of bear and human conflict," Wildlife District Manager Sarah Watson with CPW says.
CPW has a list of things to do to make sure you can avoid
contact with bears near your home.
The City of Colorado Springs has an ordinance that requires anyone living West of I-25 to store their trash in a Bear Resistant Trash Container, or in a Structured Container. CPW says to check in with your trash collector to see which option is best for you.
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