Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers help bear cub stuck in wire fence

DENVER (KDVR) — Officers with Colorado Parks and Wildlife came to the rescue Saturday when a bear cub got stuck in a wire fence in Evergreen.

When officers responded, CPW said the mother bear was in a tree nearby and unable to help free her cub.

“That’s where we step in to lend a hand,” CPW said in a post on X.

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So, officers shot a tranquilizer at the mother so that they could help the cub without worrying about her.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife posted videos of the rescue on X. The mother bear could be seen in the tree nearby while officers were cutting away the wire fencing. They used a catchpole to make sure the cub was not hurt during the process.

“The rescue has to happen fast,” CPW said. “The cub isn’t making happy sounds, but soon it will be free and much better.”

Officers were able to release the cub and back away just as the mother bear was waking up.

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To make sure the mother bear and her cub don’t come back to the dangerous fencing, CPW said K-9 Officer Samson helped haze them away from the area.

Bear reports don’t always end well

This story had a happy ending, where both bears were able to walk away from this unharmed. However, when bears end up in people’s yards, it doesn’t always end this well.

How to keep bears away from homes in Colorado

“If they think it’s in the best interest of the bear and the people, they may relocate that bear,” said Brenda Lee, founder of the Colorado Bear Coalition.

Despite it sometimes being necessary, Lee said, relocation of the bear is not ideal since they are usually placed in a new area where there could be other bears that could be a threat to them.

“Especially a mama with cubs, there could be male bears that are going to go after her cubs,” Lee said.

If the bear comes back and still continues to be a nuisance, this means they are now a threat to people and themselves.

“That’s considered a second strike, and they will be killed,” Lee said.

To avoid relocation in the first place, Lee said communities should focus on removing incentives for them to venture into their yards or urban areas. This includes stowing all food and trash, including bird feeders.

“With bird feeders, we really recommend pulling those bird feeders in from April to October. And finding plants, fruit-bearing plants, that birds can eat, and bears don’t like,” Lee said.

Lee said despite misconceptions that bears only feed at night, they are opportunists and will feed whenever they can. This even includes hummingbird feeders.

While Lee noted peoples’ attachments to watching their favorite birds coming to their feeders, she said using plants rather than store-bought seed can have similar benefits and viewing opportunities.

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“We don’t need to artificially feed birds,” Lee said. “So, how can we do that in a more natural way that fits their biology better, so it’s not like putting out junk food for them that could potentially cause them problems? Especially with hummingbirds, they can get bacteria from the hummingbird feeders if they’re not washed often enough.”

Other things you can do to keep bears away include using electric fencing around chicken coops or bee hives, which she said are really effective at keeping the bears at bay.

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