Breckenridge Lodging Guests and Locals Sight Bears in Town

More and more locals and guests staying in Breckenridge vacation rentals have been seeing bears in the last month. This is nothing new or anything to worry about. Awareness is the key!

Whether you think a bear sighting would be amazing or terrifying, there are some important things to know about bears near Breckenridge lodging. First of all, they are simply looking for food, not someone to attack. Bears can get defensive — especially if a human tries to handle a “cute” cub and the mother returns from her temporary leave to find food. It is far more dangerous for bears to be around humans, because if bears continue to visit Breckenridge lodging and neighborhoods, state wildlife officers may have to kill the animals.

The problem of bears returning to a Breckenridge lodging site or residence comes when people leave out food for bears, either knowingly or unknowingly. Garbage cans and bags, barbecue grills and hummingbird feeders are primary attractors of bears. Once they find an area that regularly has food, they’ll keep coming back.

Bears have been apt to visit Breckenridge vacation rental areas in the last few weeks because of the cool and rainy spring/early summer weather. Such weather decreases the availability of natural food sources, and it also allows bears to be more active in the cooler daytime weather (during hot days, they take shelter in shady wooded areas).

As a result plenty of guests in Breckenridge lodging, as well as locals, have seen a bunch of bears ambling through town.

The sad part is that some bears are dying as a result of their wanderings into civilization. Cars killed two bears on Interstate 70 in the past few weeks, and a police officer in Frisco had to shoot a bear in town with a rubber buckshot in an attempt to make it return to the woods.

Feeding any wildlife, bears included, is discouraged, and police officers and state wildlife officers will write tickets to humans who feed wildlife, or leave garbage or food out.

Here are some things to keep in mind to prevent bears from coming near your Breckenridge vacation rental:

· Never leave trash or recyclables out overnight (empty containers still smell like food).

· Don’t put up bird feeders, unless they are at least 10 feet off of the ground and 10 feet away from anything bears can climb. Also, keep the area below the feeders free of birdseed and hulls.

· Always clean outdoor grills and put them away after use.

· If you see a bear or one comes near your Breckenridge vacation rental, yell, blow a whistle, clap your hands or make other loud noises to chase it away. But take care to never approach or corner a bear.

For more information on bears and other wildlife, please visit www.wildlife.state.co.us/Education.