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After euthanization of 2 bears in Boulder County, CPW schedules town hall to discuss bear management

Bear in Boulder County
Posted at 10:36 AM, Aug 21, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-21 12:41:37-04

BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — After two bears were euthanized in Boulder County this weekend, Colorado Parks and Wildlife scheduled a town hall to discuss bear management with local residents.

Both bears posed an immediate danger to humans, CPW said.

The town hall is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 26 from 6-8 p.m. at Foothill Elementary School, which is located at 1001 Hawthorn Ave.

CPW Northeast Region Manager Mark Leslie said they want to provide the community with more information on how they work to mitigate human-bear issues and how residents can help prevent these bears from becoming accustomed to and reliant on humans for food.

“We all play a role in minimizing interactions with bears by establishing strong ‘Bear Aware’ habits that can help prevent conflicts," he said.

The town hall will cover several topics, including:
- Bear biology and why bears live in Boulder, plus a history of bears in the area
- CPW’s policies on bears and why bears shouldn't live in the city
- Current and future efforts
- How residents can protect bears

An open discussion will follow.

Bears will start to enter a stage called hyperphagia soon, which means they'll need to eat up to 20,000 calories a day to prepare for hibernation. Leslie said people need to be particularly cautious during this time about locking away their garbage and ridding their property of food attractants.

“Giving bears easy access to food allows them to become comfortable in an area," he said. "If they find food, they can become aggressive and will act to defend it. A bear protecting its food source can be very dangerous.”

To learn more about living with bears, visit CPW's website here.

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