Bear With Me: Colorado Takes Wild Tumble From A Tree In Denver

Did you know that brown bears can run up to 30 miles an hour? It's true. Why did I always think I could outrun a bear?

But that isn't the point of my story today. Today, I want to talk more about yet another incident here in Colorado, when a young black bear climbed up a tree in Denver. I gotta wonder why there are so many bear incidents in 2026?

But I digress, let's take a look at this specific bear incident.

Here's what we know

• The black bear was found up a tree in Denver on Louisiana Avenue and Pennsylvania Street.
• The Denver police and Colorado Parks and Wildlife were on site.
• Colorado Parks and Wildlife estimates the bear was about one and a half years old, a male weighing about one hundred pounds.
• The bear was shot with a tranquilizer gun, and once the drugs kicked in, the bear fell out of the tree onto a tarp held by the police officers. Sounds fun for them.
• While the bear fell quite a few feet, it was taken to the bear habitat and released back into the wild soon after.

I feel like every week we're seeing a bear story on the news. Why?

What's up with all the bears lately?

• Colorado has seen a significant rise in bear incidents in 2026. CPW has been called 6,129 times this year alone. Last year, the number was around half, at 3,115.
• Many believe we're seeing more bears due to the severe drought and food shortages, which are major factors.
• Just days earlier, a mama bear and he cubs were spotted in Denver's Harvey Park neighborhood and were relocated.

With almost double the bear sightings this year, you gotta think we haven't seen the last of our furry woodland friends.