Bear hiding in storm sewer looks both ways before retreat
Look both ways before crossing — the cardinal rule of intersection behavior — is no longer for pedestrians only.
Thursday afternoon, after several hours of hiding out in a storm sewer in west Colorado Springs, a bear — estimated to be about 3 or 4 years old and 250 pounds — poked its head out, looked both ways and scurried back into the forest nearby.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers believe he was lured into the neighborhood near Lower Gold Camp Road by unsecured trash that contained berryfilled tree branches.
Along with Colorado Springs Utilities, wildlife officers devised a strategy to coax the bear out of the hole and back into the woods without having to handle and tag it. Residents of a nearby nursing home were instructed to remain inside.
A wildlife officer stood by with a shotgun loaded with nonlethal rubber bullets as the sewer hole was uncovered. About six minutes later, the bear made its appearance and hoisted itself out of the manhole. The officer fired several rubber bullets at the bear while other officers chased it into the open forest space behind the neighborhood.
The rubber bullets gave the bear, that has reportedly been seen in the area before, an “extra lease on life,” according to state officials. Bears that continually pose a threat while rummaging through Dumpsters are put down after their second offense. Tagging the bear Thursday would have meant having to euthanize it if it was ever spotted again.
“We always opt, if at all possible, to haze a bear out so we don’t have to tag them,” said Bill Vogrin, a spokesman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “But if it becomes an issue of human health and safety, we have to handle them.”
He says that bears are often punished for people’s waste disposal incompetence.
Last summer, CPW had to put down 26 bears in Colorado Springs that were lured into neighborhoods by unsecured trash, Vorgin said.
Wildlife officials reportedly are working with the city to mandate bear-proof trash cans.