Bear Climbs Through Doggie Door

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. -- Bears in Colorado are starting to come out of hibernation.

According to the Division of Wildlife, bears have been spotted this spring in Aspen and now Steamboat Springs.

Steamboat Springs police reported a bear broke into a garage last Thursday in the 1700 block of Natches Way. It seems the bear smelled trash inside the garage.

A police officer told the Steamboat Springs newspaper, "We thought there was no way a bear could fit through the doggie door, but one of our officers peeked in and there was the bear, staring him in the face.”

Randy Hampton with the Colorado Division of Wildlife told 7NEWS the large amount of snow this year will "keep a few [bears] in a little longer."

Hampton said when the bears come out of hibernation, they "don't immediately head for town." He said they often start off eating slowly, maybe flowers and water. It takes them some time before they start eating big meals.

The Steamboat Police Chief J.D. Hays told 7NEWS last year officers found a bear in a Dumpster behind a restaurant. When officers arrived, the bear ran up some stairs, got on the roof of a building, jumped off the roof onto a main street in Steamboat, then ran down the street. Hays told 7NEWS it scared quite a few people.

Hampton said this is a "good time to remind people of the need to take care of trash, pet food and bird feeders" so they don't attract bears.