Colorado Division of Wildlife Reported Bear Attacks on Humans, 1990 to present

Colorado Division of Wildlife Reported Bear Attacks on Humans, 1990 to present 1971: (GMU 18, Grand Co.) Fatality: A couple was tent camping near Grand Lake on their honeymoon. A large older bear entered the tent, injured the woman and pulled the man away from the campsite. The man was killed. The bear was later found and destroyed. Further examination of the bear found that it had very worn and abscessed teeth and a plastic bucket in its stomach. August 10, 1993: (GMU 58, Fremont Co.) Fatality: A male bear broke into a camper 20 miles north of Cotopaxi presumably in search for food but ended up killing the 24 year old male occupant from Buena Vista. The camper tried to deter attack by shooting at the bear and grazing it in the rib cage (which might have had the opposite effect, said DOW officials). A 250lb very aggressive male bear with a fresh bullet wound that had grazed its rib cage was later trapped (8/16/93) and destroyed. June, 1966: (GMU 81, Conejos Co.) Injury: A bear pulled a 4 year old La Jara boy from his sleeping bag while the boy s family was on a cattle drive southwest of Antonito. The boy s 18 year old brother yelled and threw rocks at the bear, which dropped the boy and fled. The boy required 22 stitches in his neck and head. May, 1986: (GMU 75, La Plata Co.) Injury: A bear grabbed a 7 year old California girl who was with a group of girls sleeping outside by buildings near Durango. When the girl screamed, the bear dropped her and ran. But the bear returned and tried to drag off the girl s 11 year old sister in her sleeping bag, biting her on the head. The girl screamed and the bear dropped her and fled. Both girls survived. The 11 year old was treated for injuries. August 15, 1989: (GMU 38, Jefferson Co.) Injury: 6-foot, 255-pound bear destroyed tent of 36 year old mother and 9 year old daughter. Woman was bitten or clawed on the back of her head, leaving a wound that required 15 stitches at Lutheran Hospital. She left food in the tent instead of hanging it from a tree. Three Denver SWAT officers found the animal after the attack and shot it. July 19, 1990: Injury: Yearling bear weighing 60 pounds attacked 16 year old Fruita girl, biting her on the back resulting in superficial wounds. It was later determined that she and other campers had been feeding the bear. May 17, 1998: (GMU 110, El Paso Co.) Injury: Female bear with dependent cubs confronted male hiker from Colorado Springs above Garden of the Gods. Victim climbed tree to escape injury, but sustained puncture wounds on his hip and scratches on his arm. Then following a brief stand-off, bear retreated. September 18, 1998: (Lake Co.) Injury: While attempting to hang skinned elk from a tree, 53 year old male hunter from Greeley was attacked by a 250lb female bear who had fed on the elk carcass the previous night. Victim scaled the tree and was bit in the foot. His hunting partners, one of, which was a DOW officer, chased away, the bear and subsequently killed it because of its continued aggressive behavior. August 4, 1999: (GMU 82, Saguache Co.) Injury: Hiker surprised sow and cubs in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the northeastern part of the San Luis Valley. Mother bear charged the 56 year old South Fork man who scaled a tree and sustained puncture wounds and scratch marks to his foot, ankle and leg. Bear left the area after several charges up the tree. Page 1 of 8

September 13, 2000: (GMU 421, Mesa Co.) Injuries: A large bear on Grand Mesa confronted four hunters. One muzzleloader hunter was bitten in the buttocks while on the ground. One bow hunter was knocked down by the bear and bitten on the hand and leg. A third hunter fired 3 shots with a pistol at the bear; it is believed that only the last shot may have hit the bear. The bear was later tracked and found dead a few days later a short distance from the site of the attack. The 300lb 6 or 7 year old male bear appeared to have died from a bullet wound in the abdomen. July 8, 2001: (GMU 85, Huerfano Co.) Injury: A 16 year old Colorado Springs teenager suffered minor injuries (scrapes and several puncture wounds) when a black bear bit him as he slept in his sleeping bag at a campsite west of Gardner. The boy s uncle killed the 130lb 3 year old male bear after it returned to the campsite and chased the boy s father onto the top of a pickup truck. Division officers said that the bear had become accustomed to finding human food in the area and made regular visits to the campsite looking for a meal. July 24, 2001: (Chaffee Co.) Injury: A Texas Scout leader was bitten and scratched by a black bear that entered her tent while she slept. The bear entered the tent in the early morning hours and was chased off by other Scout leaders who responded when the victim yelled for help. August 1 st a 175lb three year old male bear, which was habituated to human food, was trapped at the campground and destroyed. August 2, 2001: (GMU 561, Chaffee Co.) Injury: A 17 year old Boy Scout from Kansas suffered a bruised back and other minor injuries early in the morning when a black bear entered the tent he and another Scout were sleeping in at the Packerd High Adventure Scout Camp south of Poncha Springs. The bear entered the tent in the early morning hours and was chased off by other Scout leaders who responded when the victim yelled for help. The 17 year old Boy Scout was sleeping in the exact same tent as the July 24 th victim. DOW officers noted that the camp did not have bear proof trash containers and closed the campground for the rest of the season. Officers searched for the bear and trackers and dogs were brought to help find the bear. DOW officers trapped and destroyed a large 295lb, male bear early Monday morning (8/6/01) at the Scout camp. August 21, 2001: (GMU 86, Fremont-Custer Co. line) Injury: In the Lake Creek Campground a 21 year old camper from Kansas was awoken just after midnight when a 280lb male black bear tore through the side of his tent. The victim told wildlife officials that he was sleeping in a tent with two other people when the bear broke through the side. He woke up to find the bear standing on top of him and kicked to get the animal to leave. The bear bit his hand and the man grabbed a hatchet and began swinging at the animal. The bear then left the tent after a scuffle that lasted 20 to 30 seconds. In addition to the bite to his right hand, the man also received injuries to his head, back and upper-right arm. DOW officers, using dogs provided by a local hunting outfitter, tracked and destroyed the bear about 7 a.m. Even though the Lake Creek Campground had bear-proof containers and there was no trash lying around, it was closed for the season after the incident. Note a neighboring private campground also had bear-proof containers but the containers were not closed properly and trash was scattered. Bear had been reported in the area feeding on trash. August 27, 2001: (GMU 371, Summit Co.) Injury: A 41 year old California woman sleeping in her tent just north of Frisco suffered a cut forehead early in the morning when a black bear swiped through the tent fabric with its paw as it looked for food. About 6 a.m. the woman felt the muzzle of an animal nudging the side of her tent. She pushed at the muzzle thinking it might be a loose dog, and the bear responded by swiping through the fabric with its claws, catching her on the forehead. She yelled and the bear backed off, then she climbed out of her tent at the opposite end from where the bear had been. She and the bear looked at each other from about 10 feet away and she had the composure to talk in a normal voice, telling the bear to go away. The animal left and she walked down the trail to request help from people in a nearby trailer. After the women left, the bear Page 2 of 8

returned and tore apart the campsite, including the woman s tent and sleeping bag. The campsite was reasonably clean, but there are other informal campsites in the area where food is left lying about. This bear had been finding food in the area and was attracted to the woman s tent because it had found food in similar circumstances. A trap was set up to try and capture the bear. September 9, 2001: (GMU 29, Boulder Co.) Injury: A 28 year old hearing impaired man was walking his service dog off leash on the Skunk Creek Trail. He stopped for a break and saw a small black furry animal feeding in the brush several yards in front of him. About the same time he realize it was a bear cub and not a dog something hit him from behind knocking him into some bushes. He was held on there for a couple of seconds. As the sow pulled away, her claws tore the man s clothes. The sow and cubs then ran back into the brush. The hiker sustained minor scratches and a strained knee. DOW and Boulder Open Space officers immediately searched the area but did not find the sow or cubs. The incident was treated as a non-aggressive encounter by DOW officers therefore the bear was not tracked and destroyed. October 5, 2001: (GMU 791, Alamosa Co.) Injury: A 20 year old man was camping with several other people just outside the boundary of the Great Sand Dunes National Monument. While most in his camping party slept in tents, the man and a friend slept outside. At approximately 4:00 a.m. a small to medium sized bear bit him on the right foot. At first the man thought it was his friends pulling a prank but when he started to speak the bear ran off. The bear was tracked but not found. June 29, 2002: (GMU 591, El Paso Co.) Injury: An 11 year old boy was sleeping in a tent by himself on a Boy Scout camping trip at Camp Falcon. He was awoken early in the morning when his tent began to collapse as something stood on top of him. The bear ripped the tent open, stuck its head inside the tent and bit the boy on the right leg. The boy yelled Bear! and some of the adults asked if he was ok, which the boy replied yes. Not knowing the boy had been bitten one of the adults then told the boy to go back to sleep, which he did. Although the bear bit through both the boy s sleeping bag and shorts the boy did sustain a puncture wound on his thigh. A medium sized bear was caught in a culvert trap on July 1 and euthanized under Division policy. August 19-20, 2002: (GMU 46, Park Co.) Injury/Encounter: Several groups of students from Jefferson County Open School had an encounter with a black bear, while they were camped in the Mount Evans Wilderness Area. On the 19 th the first group of students set up two tents and several tarps that some of the students would be sleeping under. Approximately 1 a.m. one of students sleeping under a trap saw a bear approaching him. The bear took the boy s shoe and started to lick and chew on the shoe. The bear then tore down the tarp the boy was under before a few students were able to scare the bear off away from the camp. All the students sat in one of the tents waiting for the bear to leave. The bear proceeded to tear up the camp for about an hour before it came up to the tent they all were in and hit the tent. At this time, the boy who had the first encounter with the bear received a hit to his head but he wasn t sure if it was from the bear or someone else in the tent. The camp was reported to have been very clean before the bear encounter and a Forrest Service employee cleaned up the camp after the encounter. On the 20 th the second group of students also had an encounter with a bear. The students were out on their own under tarps, spread out covering about ¼ mile. About 10:30 p.m., one of the students saw the bear smelling around, then the bear came up and laid down next to him. The student got up out of his sleeping bag and started to yell, thus scaring the bear off. The group leader gathered all the students and kept them near camp as the bear continued to tear up the camp. Shortly after the bear left the second group of students, the bear arrived at the third group of students. The bear came up to the group leader s tent and tried to get into it, then jumped on top and broke the tent poles. After that, the bear went to a second tent and took a swipe at the tent. The bear proceeded down to a tarp where one of the students was sleeping. The bear walked up to the tarp and then jumped onto it. The student was still in his sleeping bag when the bear landed on his Page 3 of 8

legs. This is when the bear s claws scratched him. The student managed to get out of his sleeping bag and started to run toward the camp with the bear closely following him. After the other students in the third group were gathered up the bear began to circle the group. Walking back and forth, the bear was described as prowling. The bear made a bluff charge towards the group. The group did spray the bear with pepper spray, but it only affected the bear for a short amount of time. The bear continued to tear up the camps and left around 4:30 a.m. DOW officers investigated these incidents but were unable to track the bear. August 22, 2002: (GMU 59, Teller Co.) Injury: A sub-adult bear came down on top of a tent and inadvertently put a one inch scratch on the head of the male sleeping in the tent. Toiletries were in the tent at the time of the incident. The bear had reportedly entered into at least three tents in a two-week period. The bear was shot and killed by a campground resident. July 13, 2003: (GMU 20, Larimer Co.) Injuries: Two people injured by black bear inside Rocky Mountain National Park, near Fern Lake (backcountry.) A park ranger warned the campers about black bears when a group of four men set out for a two-day camping trip. The campers took precautions. They suspended their cooking utensils, food and trash between two trees 50 yards from their campsite and kept no food in their tents. Despite that, an aggressive bear slashed through a tent and bit one of the men on the forehead. The man s screams scared away the 250-pound, cinnamon-colored bear, but the bruin headed for one of his companion s tents as the second man continued to sleep. The second man received lacerations that required 30 staples in his skull. The bear ambled into the forest after its victims started screaming, the campers said. About an hour after the attack, witnesses spotted the same bear striking a food-storage container at another campsite in the area, indicating the animal has lost its natural fear of humans and had become dangerous. Park officials closed that portion of the park and a trap was set, but the bear was never captured. July 22, 2003: (GMU 28, Grand Co.) Injury: A man sleeping in a sleeping bag near his truck was stirred by some noise and woke up to a bear looking over him. The man was startled, lifted his head and that is when he felt the bear scratch him. The bear immediately jumped back and then came at the man again. The man stood up and the bear jumped back again. The man got into his vehicle and honked the horn causing the bear to run off. The camper did not require medical attention. The incident was treated as a non-aggressive encounter by DOW officers therefore the bear was not tracked and destroyed. July 5, 2004: (GMU 521, Gunnison Co.) Injury: Federal wildlife agent attacked by same problem bear he was tracking. The bear had been killing sheep of a livestock owner. The agent had been using dogs to track the bear, they treed the bear, and the man shot it in the shoulder. The bear fell from the tree and was chased by the dogs. The man followed and ended up with the bear between him and his dogs. The bear grabbed him by the leg and bit his leg while pulling the man down. The agent shot the bear in the chest at that time. The bear let hem go and turned toward the dogs. The man tried to get away and the bear turned back on him, pulling him down and biting him a couple more times. This process repeated itself a couple of times until the bear finally died. The agent suffered a leg injury, but was able to walk back from where he was attacked to his camp. A US Forest Service ranger came to his aid, and he was taken to Delta County Hospital and treated for bites on all four limbs. July 28, 2004: (GMU 48, Pitkin Co.) Injury: Adult black bear wandered into tent of 19 year old woman and proceeded to roll her around and sniff her. No serious injuries, but was treated at the hospital for a small wound on the top of her leg and some bruises. Page 4 of 8

August 8, 2004: (GMU 191, Larimer Co.) Injury: A woman encountered a bear on her porch. When the woman opened the door to the porch the bear swiped at her right foot leaving scratch marks. The woman later reported the bear had stepped on her foot. The woman sustained only minor injuries that did not require medical attention. The incident was treated as a non-aggressive encounter by DOW officers therefore the bear was not tracked and destroyed. August 10, 2004: (GMU 31, Garfield Co.) Injury: An adult female bear was in a cabin when it was startled by the cabin owner s friend. The bear subsequently bit the left foot of the individual and then retreated. The bear had been in the cabin numerous times eating bird grain, flour and cocoa. The sow was later trapped and euthanized. August 31, 2004: (GMU 62, Montrose Co.) Injury: A sheep herder shot and wounded a 200 lb. sow after finding the sow and her cub in the sheep. The sow attacked the herder s dog after being wounded. The herder did not have any more bullets so to defend his dog he picked up a branch and began beating the sow with the branch. At that point the sow bit the herder on his leg and arm. Both the sow and cub were killed by the herder. September 11, 2004: (GMU 54, Gunnison Co.) Injury: An elk hunter was sitting on a stump waiting for daylight when a bear came up from behind and swatted him on his left shoulder knocking the hunter over. The bear immediately ran off. The hunter sustained only minor injuries that did not require medical attention. The bear was not tracked and destroyed. July 19, 2005: (GMU 691, Fremont Co.) Injury: A 14 year old Texas boy was treated and released for injuries suffered in an attack by a medium sized black bear around 1 a.m. The boy and his 12 year old cousin were sleeping in a tent at a private campground near Coaldale, Colorado when the bear scratched through the side of the tent. The boy was bitten on the left hand and received some other scratches and bruises during a brief struggle with the bear. The rest of the boy s family was sleeping in a hard-sided camper nearby. His mother took him to Heart-of-the-Rockies Regional Medical Center in Salida where he received stitches and antibiotics to prevent infection. A trap was set. A medium size adult male bear was captured and destroyed. July 31, 2005: (GMU 581, Teller Co.) Injury: A 49 year old man suffered multiple lacerations about his head and back when mauled a black bear. The man was sleeping in a semi-permanent motor-home parked on vacant land north of Cripple Creek when the bear entered through a make-shift pet door around 3 a.m. He was treated and released from a local medical facility in Woodland Park. A trap was set, but the bear was not captured. September 19, 2005: (GMU 59, El Paso Co.) Injury: A large black bear injured an 85 year old woman in the Skyway subdivision in Colorado Springs. The bear was a frequent visitor to the woman s yard because she was feeding it. The woman had been leaving a bucket of sunflower seeds on a picnic table for birds, squirrels or whatever other wildlife wandered into her back yard. According to the woman, at least four bears were frequent visitors including the bear that bit her. A trap was set, but the bear was not captured. June 17, 2006: (GMU 59, El Paso Co.) Injury: A large black bear injured a 17 year old boy who was camping with his family in a dispersed campsite in the National Forest just outside the Crags Campground. The boy was in a sleeping bag when he felt the bear tugging at the foot of the bag. Initially he thought it was his brother playing a trick on him but he woke up and realized it was a bear. He then yelled and the bear landed a glancing blow to the head. He was treated and released from a local medical facility for a laceration to his skull requiring several stitches. A short time later, the bear was caught in one of the traps the DOW had set inside the campground. The boy, and other members of his family, positively identified the bear as the same one that was Page 5 of 8

at their campsite. The Crags Campground was closed to overnight use starting June 16 but the family campsite was about 200 yards outside the campground. Earlier in the week, the DOW was notified that a female jogger had been chased by a bear in the Crags Campground area. While investigating the incident with the jogger the Crags Campground host informed the DOW that a 31 year old man had been bitten on the foot on June 4 th. The 31 year old man was sleeping in his sleeping bag on a chair outside. The man suffered minor injuries and was treated and released from a local hospital. Shortly before being bit the man s friend was awoken while sleeping in a tent when something started to collapse the tent and landed on his back. DOW and USDA Wildlife Services attempted to track the bear with dogs but were unsuccessful, so multiple traps were set in the campground. DOW officers and volunteers posted warning signs and talked to hikers and other recreational users in the area about bear safety. DOW monitored the campground every night for five nights in-a-row during the week, but there was no bear activity during the week. The bear did return to the campground area on Saturday night. A 190 lb. adult male bear was captured and destroyed. March 30, 2007: (GMU 391, Jefferson Co.) Injury: A 38 year old woman suffered a number of abrasions and cuts on the side of her body and legs when a yearly bear attacked her on her porch. At approximately 12:30 a.m. the woman was in the process of bringing her dogs into the house when the attack occurred. Jefferson County State Patrol deputies assisted a DOW officer in the search for the bear. A small (yearling) bear was tracked a short distance away from the scene and observed to be blonde in color. Two other bears, at least one being a yearling and black in color, were also observed close to the scene. The lone blonde bear began to walk down the hill towards the other bears but when it was approximately 15 yards from the DOW officer it turned and began to charge in his direction. The officer shot and killed the charging bear. The black yearling bear then ran toward the blonde yearling. The officer fired a second shot in the second bear s direction. Both the black yearling bear and the third bear ran away from the scene. The woman was treated and released from a metro Denver hospital. September 17, 1993: (GMU 43, Pitkin Co.) Encounter: Bow hunter killed bear on Basalt Mountain after it charged him three times. The man was hunting elk from a tree stand when the bear approached and sniffed his backpack which was on the ground. The man tried to verbally run off the bear. The bear in turn charged the tree three times. After the third time, the man killed the bear. September 21, 1997: (El Paso Co.) Encounter: A medium-size bear charged an archery hunter several times while subject was hunting deer on private property early in the morning. Bear followed hunter back to his camp and proceeded to rummage around the camp. Then the bear came up behind the hunter and knocked the hunter down (the hunter was not injured). Hunter shot arrow at the bear but missed; the bear left the area. August 30, 1999: (GMU 75, La Plata Co.) Encounter: 62 year old man shot 250-pound bear after it got into his house through a window. The man tried to scare the bear away, but it didn t work. When the bear started toward him, the man shot it three times. The man had no bear attractants outside his house. September 20, 2001: (GMU 75, La Plata Co.) Encounter: A 48 year old woman was walking her dogs on lead at approximately 4:30 a.m. inside the Durango City limits when she encountered three bears (a sow with cub and a subadult). As the woman unknowingly came upon the bears, the adult and a cub ran up trees, while the yearling bear knocked the woman down and jumped up and down on her several times. The woman suffered bruises but was not scratched or bitten. A neighbor heard the commotion and came out to help. The adult bear came out of the tree and chased the neighbor back into his house. Officers from the Durango Police Department arrived on scene and managed to tree the adult and the cub. The officers were not able to keep the yearling from escaping. Both the adult and the cub were euthanized at the scene by a DOW officer. A trap has been set in the area in hopes of catching the yearling, which will also be euthanized if it is caught under Division policy. Page 6 of 8

April 17, 2002: (GMU 104, Douglas Co.) Encounter: A 29 year old man was picking up a horse trailer from a friend s house near Castle Rock. A passing motorist stopped to inform the man that a bear was chasing the horses. The man went to corral to investigate. Upon approaching the corral he found a cub feeding in a bucket of rabbit food approximately 15 feet to the right of him. When the man looked to the left he saw the sow running straight toward him. When the man scrambled onto a roof of a nearby house the sow clawed his right leg. The bear tore his jeans between the knee and ankle and inflicted minor scratch wounds. Once on the roof the man could see the sow chasing her two cubs back into the scrub oak before she returned to the house. After some time he looked over the edge of the roof to see if the bears were still around. The man saw the sow rise up onto her hind legs and start scratching the side of the house. The man estimated that 15 or 20 minutes went by before his fiancée starting walking from the horse trailer to the house to see what was taking so long. From the roof the man yelled to his fiancée about the bears. She promptly went to the road to flag down a motorist to call for help. In the time between when the call went out and the first responders (approx. 15-15 mins.) other motorists stopped to take pictures of the bear. The bears left the scene shortly after the first emergency vehicles arrived. The incident was treated as a non-aggressive encounter by DOW officers therefore the bear was not tracked and destroyed. July, 2003: (Larimer Co.) Encounter: A woman driving on a country road in Larimer County thought she saw a stray dog and stopped to tend to it. When she saw it was a bear cub, she went back to her car. The cub followed her and climbed the driver s side window. The woman was lightly scratched when she tried to push the bear down. A man driving by stopped and got the bear off the car by offering it a sandwich and carrots. When the bear finished eating, it climbed up the man s leg and bit his hand when he tried to push it away. The bear then went to sleep at the man s feet. The cub s mother wasn t found. The cub was quarantined at a wildlife rehabilitation facility to check for rabies. August 30, 2004: (GMU 53, Gunnison Co.) Encounter: Around 8:30 a.m. an elk hunter was gutting his elk while his two daughters ages 6 and 3 where wandering around near him. The girls wandered approximately 20 yards down a hill into some trees downwind of the kill. The girls saw a bear and called to their dad and told him that it was walking toward them. The hunter picked up his bow and went to where the bear and the girls were. The girls then panicked and started screaming and running up the hill toward their dad. The hunter saw the bear running behind them apparently chasing them and ran down to get between the girls and the bear. He yelled at the bear to stop and the bear looked at him and then focused once again on the girls who were now behind him. As the bear started to go around the hunter while looking directly at the girls the hunter shot the bear with an arrow at 10 feet. The bear was about 15 feet from the girls when it was shot. The wounded bear ran past the girls and around a knoll where it died. The bear was a 2 ½ year old female who was in good shape but with little fat. September 2, 2004: (GMU 421, Mesa Co.) Encounter: Two archery hunters hunting antlerless elk were set up by a water hole. Approximately 8:30 a.m. a sow and two cubs came into the water. The sow started to drink while the cubs were exploring the area. The cubs somehow sensed that the two hunters were there and one of the cubs went on one side of the hunters while the other cub went on the other side. The hunters got a little nervous at that time. One of the cubs then started huffing and woofing and the sow then sensed danger and charged one of the hunters. The sow came up the hill toward the hunter at a run, and as it was approaching the hunter he was trying to knock and arrow. While backing away from the sow he hit a log behind him, which he tripped over, and fell to the ground. As the sow got within five yards of the hunter on the ground the other hunter shot the sow with an arrow. The sow then turned and ran to where it died about 100 yards away. The sow was a fairly old sow in good shape with plenty of fat. The cubs were not harmed and sent to a rehabilitation Page 7 of 8

facility. July 15, 2006: (GMU 41, Mesa Co.) Encounter: Approximately 6:30 a.m. a woman sleeping in her tent felt something grab the covers from her feet and then continue to the side of her tent. When she sat up she screamed when she saw that it was a bear. The bear swiped at her leg but did not injure the woman. The woman laid still until the bear left the area. The immediate area was closed for approximately a week while DOW personnel attempted to catch the bear. Page 8 of 8