Since the days when Daniel Boone "kilt a bar" and carved his triumph on a tree, humans moving into bear habitat has meant conflicts between the two species. Bears used to be feared as ferocious wild animals, and despised as killers of live stock. Not until Yogi and Boo Boo came along did we begin to soften our image of wild bears. That change coincided with an increasingly urban population, one which has a minuscule chance of ever encountering a bear in the wild. Yet ironically, bear-human conflicts are increasing in Colorado as the expanding human population also moves into desirable mountain areas, and into bear habitat.
Farmers and ranchers traditionally regarded bears as pests to be destroyed by any means. Wildlife management reflected that attitude for years until 1935, when Colorado declared the black bear a game animal and afforded it protection under state hunting regulations. Over succeeding decades Colorado's human population changed. From 1950 to 1990 Colorado's urban population more than tripled. By 1990 only 17.6% of the state population of 3,294,394 lived in the country. As city-dwellers outnumbered rural populations, Coloradoans adopted an increasingly humanistic attitude towards bears. Today fewer people are raised with a hunting tradition; there is rising interest in wildlife conservation and animal welfare among the general public, and some segments of the population oppose hunting outright. Reflecting these changing attitudes, in 1992 Coloradoans approved Amendment 10, banning the spring bear hunt and outlawing the use of dogs and bait in hunting bears. "It's not that most people are opposed to hunting," says DOW bear researcher Tom Beck, "but they want it done in a humane and fair manner." Using dogs and bait to hunt bears, and killing females while they still have dependent cubs, conflicts with many people's sense of fair play. "This new group places a high value on bears," Beck adds, "more in line with the reverence afforded bears by Native Americans."
As the population booms, formerly rural areas -like those around Durango, Telluride and the foothills of the Front Range - are developing at a rapid rate. As we develop our state, and humans encroach on bear habitat - both to live and recreate -the chances for bear-human conflicts increase. High numbers of problem bears coincide with concentrations of humans, not bears, says Beck.
During late summer and fall, bears feed ravenously—up to 20 hours a day—to put on enough fat to survive winter hibernation, which may last six months. Bears are opportunists; they'll take food where and when they can find it. When people leave garbage out in campgrounds or around their homes, it attracts bears. Once bears associate people with food, they often become problem bears, usually an eventual death sentence for the bear. These very strong animals may tear into campers and enter homes seeking food.
Unless they have learned to associate humans with food, bears are generally shy and wary, avoiding people as much as possible. Bear attacks are rare. For every death caused by a black bear, there are 17 deaths from spiders, 25 from snake bites, 67 from dogs, 150 from tornadoes, 180 from bees and hornets, 374 from lightning and 90,000 from homicides.
We have a responsibility toward Colorado's bears to protect them from becoming "humanized" - that is, attracted to places of human activity in search of food. "A fed bear is a dead bear," is an unfortunate truism. If a problem bear is still a nuisance after all garbage and other attractions have been cleaned up it is trapped, tagged and moved to a new location. But a bear is only relocated once. If it is trapped again, it is destroyed. District Wildlife Manager Bob Holder of Trinidad, who has had to trap and kill numerous problem bears, wishes the thoughtless people who leave out garbage had to "look into those brown eyes and squeeze the trigger."
Calling the Division of Wildlife to remove a bear is not a good option, say DOW bear experts, because a relocated bear carries its association of humans with food wherever it's moved. "The need to prevent bear conflicts through education, proper trash storage, control of bear attractants, etc., is critical," says DOW biologist Kathi Green. DOW personnel answer hundreds of inquires and complaints about bears, to which they send out information outlining specific solutions. These complaints are also entered into a statewide database detailing bear problems. The Division uses billboards, signs in campgrounds public talks and media interviews to educate the public on how to avoid problems with bears. But, it is ultimately the public is responsibility to prevent problems.
We cannot expect bears to change, and we don't want them to. Black bears, wild and wary, are a wonderful part of Colorado's natural heritage. It is up to humans living and recreating in bear habitat to alter their habits and activities. We must learn to live responsibly in bear country, not the other way around.