This year’s drought across Colorado continues to negatively affect the state’s wildlife. One wildlife rehabilitation facility is partly blaming this year’s weather for an influx of orphaned black bear cubs, with more than 30 now in its care.
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Nanci Limbach, the founder and executive director of the Pauline S. Schneegas Wildlife Foundation, says this is one of the busiest years for the organization. The facility is caring for nearly three dozen bears while continuing to care for other Colorado wildlife, including foxes, deer and raptors.
Limbach says they occasionally see a surge in bears, but this year was unique because of the number of bears that arrived early in the season.
“For a couple (of bears), their mothers were legally shot and killed, so we got those cubs. We've had several whose mothers have been hit by cars,” said Limbach. “And then some, the mothers are just leaving alone, and it's survival of the fittest for the mother. So if she can't support herself, she doesn't want to take care of cubs because she can go have more cubs.”
Limbach says this year’s early freeze and dry conditions have wiped out food sources such as berries and acorns while making water scarce.
The foundation is located in Silt, just off Interstate 70 and not far from the Colorado River. While it’s been a rough year for the river as well, water continues to flow, unlike in nearby creeks. Limbach says this has forced more bears toward the river and nearby communities.
“So the bears just came down to along the river corridor, where obviously with more water, there's more vegetation and things like that that will grow,” Limbach said.
The bears going further into towns is something the state has seen all year. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) says it’s been an issue. There has been a significant increase in what the agency calls human and bear conflicts. They define it as any situation where a bear shows troubling behavior, like getting into trash or damaging people’s property or vehicles.
The state has also seen an increase in bear attacks. CPW reported a dozen attacks this year, with the most recent incident last week in Clear Creek County. Other incidents include a person who woke up in a park to find a bear biting his head and a bear that entered a home in Steamboat Springs. Fortunately, there were no fatal attacks. However, CPW policy often calls for euthanizing bears involved in attacks.
Like Limbach, CPW also partly blames the drought, saying it has pushed bears into new areas in search of food and led them to take greater risks around humans.
“Bears right now are in search of food, and they are opportunistic,” CPW Public Information Officer Rachael Gonzales said in early August. “They're looking for things right now that are going to continue to sustain them.”
As bears begin preparing for hibernation, those still active are bulking up. Full-grown black bears need about 20,000 calories a day to prepare for their long winter nap.
The extreme caloric intake the bears need makes the fall a time of year when wildlife officials want people to be extra “Bear Aware.” These are safety measures people can take to avoid conflicts with bears. They include simple steps like securing food, garbage and recycling and removing bird feeders when bears are most active.
Keeping up with the bears’ appetites has also been a challenge for the Pauline S. Schneegas Wildlife Foundation.
“The bears are going through currently about 2,000 pounds of fruit every week, and about 1,000 pounds of high-quality dog food with the brands that match their nutritional needs,” Limbach said.
By October, most of the cubs are no longer so small. Most bears are born in January, so at nine or 10 months old, the cubs can begin fending for themselves and may weigh close to 50 pounds. At this point, they generally don’t need rescuing, and people are better off staying away from the animals.
“Bears are an interesting thing, but they do need to be left alone to do their thing,” said Limbach. “And you know, if you can, try to scare them off with anything you got.”
Many of the bears at the facility are now being transported to a satellite location, where they will hibernate for the next few months. Around early February, Limbach’s team, along with CPW, will wake the bears and transport them deep into the woods for release back into the wild.
Learn more about the Pauline S. Schneegas Wildlife Foundation.
