Lions and tigers and bears, oh ⁠— no, just bears. Whether it be a car break in, a bear burglary, or even a dumpster dive, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, there were 5,369 reported human-bear interactions between April and December of last year.

Colorado Outdoors says that there were over 500 documented incidents of bears entering homes and over 300 reports were vehicle related. In 2019, none of the reported incidents involved a piano (that was so 2017).

None of the 2019 reports involved pizza, either...

But, one bear did drive a car... well, kind of.

Jokes aside, this is actually a pretty serious safety issue for humans, as you could imagine, but it's also a concern for wildlife. While the Fort Collins area doesn't rank as one of the top areas for black bear incidents (see map here), it's still important that humans do their share to keep bears in the wild and away from people.

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'It requires a community-wide effort to keep our bears safe and wild. Formally and informally, it is about securing attractants and making sure that people allow bears to stay wild. We have found success in towns and cities where they have been strategic about how they handle their garbage....

 

We also want to keep people from intentionally or negligently feeding bears by leaving food out for them. We’ll continue educating people and communities on how food sources and attractants lead to problems and find new tools to reach more people.' - Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Outdoors

Read more about bear-related incidents in Colorado, and how to prevent them, from Colorado Outdoors.

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