DURANGO, Colo. – An ursine found napping under a deck at a home in Durango on Wednesday is being considered “one of the largest male bears ever seen in town” by Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials.
The male bear – estimated to be about 10 years old and weighing as much as 400 pounds – was found under a deck of a home in a residential Durango neighborhood off Hermosa Ave. west of Needham Elementary, CPW officials said in a series of tweets.
It took a tranquilizer dart and five CPW staff members to get the bear out from under the deck and into a trailer, where the animal underwent a quick health exam and was equipped with a microchip and ear tags.
It took a tranquilizer dart and five members of CPW staff to get this bear out from under the deck and into a trailer so it could be prepared for relocation. The bear underwent a quick health exam and was equipped with a microchip and ear tags. pic.twitter.com/2rXho7Uvsy
— CPW SW Region (@CPW_SW) October 13, 2022
CPW officials said the bear was given a reversal drug to counteract the effects of the tranquilizer and was driven more than 60 miles away from Durango to be relocated to a suitable habitat with good food to eat and where it is unlikely to encounter hunters this season.
“While we haven’t had to handle many bears in Durango this year, this highlights the importance of removing attractants around your home,” CPW officials said.
The agency is cautioning residents to be aware of their surroundings when out in bear country as sightings and incident reports increase amid the animal's feeding frenzy, commonly known as hyperphagia.
CPW said it had received 3,614 bear reports from April 1 through Oct. 1, 2022 – a 14.5% increase from the same timeframe a year ago, when it received 3,155 reports of bear sightings.
The wildlife agency said most of the reports involve bears trying to access human food sources and they are urging residents to remove attractants to reduce conflicts.
Coloradans are advised to wait until the early hours of the morning to take out their trash instead of doing it the night before or as near to the pick-up time for trash collection in your neighborhood. They also urge people to pick up fallen fruit, safely secure trash and remove bird feeders to avoid bears coming to your door to sniff around.
“You really don’t want a bear of this size in your yard,” officials said.