Bear activity rising in Boulder as animals prepare for hibernation - Boulder Daily Camera

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Officials say recent reports of black bear activity in Boulder indicate the animals are trying harder to find food while they prepare to hibernate over the winter.

Jason Clay, public information officer for Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said the agency received reports of bear activity around 47th Street and Pleasant Ridge Road on Tuesday. Bears had foraged through residential trash bins and climbed onto the porches of a few houses.

The previous Monday, a Boulder resident filmed a bear as it rummaged through a knocked-over trash can, tearing through plastic bags and meandered from house to house. The videos were uploaded to Twitter.

Bear activity has already been observed in various places around Boulder this year. According to the city's website, the past few years have seen an increase in bear sightings, specifically in the area between Broadway Street and 30th Street.

Last year, there were 181 cars broken into by bears across the state of Colorado, according to Clay. Of those, 33 incidents took place in Area 2, which encompasses Boulder County and Estes Park. This is the highest number of any Colorado area for car-related bear incidents.

"Bears can break into your car forcefully, and they also know how to use door handles," said Clay. "The best prevention is to keep a clean car."

The city has taken a variety of measures meant to work toward a safer coexistence between Boulder and the bears that live nearby. Trash and compost carts that have been reinforced with special latches are dubbed "bear-resistant" due to their success at keeping bears from accessing the food inside.

"Bears become habituated to using humans as a crutch to get the calories they need," said Clay. "There are different models, but the idea behind all bear-resistant containers is preventing bears from being able to open them."

Bear-resistant trash cans have become commonplace in Boulder after the implementation of Bear Protection Ordinance 8161. Put into effect in 2017, the ordinance requires bear-resistant trash and compost containers to be used in any location where these containers are left outside overnight to be picked up in the morning. Clay mentioned that bear-resistant does not necessarily mean bear-proof, however, and emphasized the importance of keeping trash and compost containers inside as much as possible.

The ordinance also turned the area west of Broadway Street and south of Sumac Avenue into a mandatory "bear-resistant cart zone." For those living in this zone, all containers for compost and trash must be bear-resistant unless otherwise stored in an enclosed building, such as a garage.

"There are a number of cities and towns across Colorado that have these trash (ordinances), and we think that they're productive steps to try to reduce bear conflicts," said Clay.

Community members are encouraged by the city to help reduce the frequency of bear involvement by either using bear-resistant containers or storing their waste in an enclosed space. Housing backyard livestock like chickens in secure, protected structures is another way to decrease potential bear attractants.

Boulder residents that do not live in the bear-resistant cart zone can contact their trash haulers and request a container that meets the appropriate standards. Colorado Parks and Wildlife also supports individual homeowners taking more active roles in bear deterrence efforts.

"There are lots of options," said Clay. "It's just about wanting to do what's right for yourself, for the protection of your property, and to keep our bears safe, too."

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