LITTLETON, Colo. -- Two bears with a taste for freezer food were killed after they broke into homes in the Roxborough Park area in the past week.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife said a young bear broke into Vickie Ockey's home through a sliding glass door about 3 a.m. on June 17 and ate the contents of her freezer.

"He physically opened the freezer and ripped out the shelf," said Ockey. "He was just kind of roaming the house."

Another bear ransacked a different family's freezer a week later.

Division of Wildlife spokeswoman Jennifer Churchill said her office had received at least 15 reports of bear sightings since late May in that area. Neighbors said the bears had pushed through screened windows, ducked into garages and poked their heads into open doors in other parts of the neighborhood.

"This is the most we've seen bears in the 10 years we've been here," said Roxborough Park resident Peter Schopen.

Churchill said the bears were drawn to birdfeeders and DOW officials were forced to put them down to protect public safety.

"If bears start targeting homes and pushing open doors and coming into your home looking for food, that's a situation where someone could certainly be harmed," she said.

Churchill said the bear found in Ockey's home left behind droppings that were full of birdseed, presumably left out by neighbors.

“Even if residents don’t think they are contributing to the problem with bears when they feed birds, they often are," said officer Vicki Vargas.

Residents are being asked to take down any birdfeeders until after Thanksgiving. Churchill said additional information on bearproofing is available on the Colorado Division of Wildlife website.