Colorado is home to as many as 20,000 black bears (Ursus americanus) and the large omnivores often come in contact with people. Even in urban areas like Los Angeles suburbs bears wander into unexpected areas. But conflict with bears appears to be dropping sharply in Colorado.
But according to Yahoo News conflict with bears is down sharply even as the population apparently increases. The secret appears to be a new reporting system that maps bear sightings and interactions. This allows agencies such as the Colorado Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDW) to respond to interactions. It also helps to defuse conflict.
According to CDW (Via Yahoo)
“Colorado Parks and Wildlife reported 3,526 accounts of human-bear conflicts in 2023, down from 4,147 in 2022. Just over half of these interactions last year (1,795) resulted in property damage to sheds, garages, homes, vehicles, fences and other items.”
Of those 1,795 interactions involving property damage:
- 92% were linked to some kind of attractant
- Over 51% were linked to trash
- 20% were linked to livestock, chickens and beehives
- 19% were linked to bird seed, pet food, barbecue grills, coolers and refrigerators
“However, overall bear-human interactions have been down in the past five years. CPW reported last year’s total of bear sightings or interactions is a 21% decrease from 2019.”
The majority of conflict with bears incidents involve bears searching for food. Bear-proof storage is highly recommended for people seeking to avoid conflict with the powerful animals.
Bears have been confronted with people moving into their habitat, resulting in conflict with bears in Japan and the expansion of bears into urban areas in Massachusetts.
One of the major conservation issues in the world is increased animal conflict. As habitat decreases, interaction increases. Perhaps the Colorado system may lead to better ability to avoid conflict.