COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — It’s never pleasant to wake up suddenly in the middle of the night, but even less so if it’s because a bear pounced on your tent.
According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, that’s exactly what happened to one couple early Monday.
The couple had set up a campsite on a private campground — the Golden Eagle Campground off Colorado Highway 115 — southwest of Colorado Springs. The campground is roughly five miles southwest of the city.
Around 1:30 a.m. Monday, they woke up to the sound of a bear rustling around their campsite, knocking clean plates and a cooking stove off the table, according to CPW. The bear then turned its attention to the tent.
According to the couple, the animal stood on its back legs and put its paws on the tent, likely investigating what it was. Under the bear’s weight, the tent quickly collapsed.
In the subsequent commotion, the bear ran off and the couple shouted at it. They also turned on their car’s alarm to scare it away. Neither were injured, according to CPW.
CPW said the bear was likely a juvenile and simply curious, not aggressive.
However, this is still classified as an attack because a bear contacted a human, said CPW. Wildlife officers have set up a trap to catch it.
A small, brown-colored bear has been seen wandering the campground in recent weeks and CPW said they believe it’s the same bear.
If caught, CPW will not euthanize it since it was not aggressive. Instead, they will haze it — to help it learn to avoid humans — and release it into a more remote area.
CPW confirmed that the tent’s rainfly had been ripped, but the couple’s tent was not damaged.
To learn more about camping in bear country, click here.
