{"id":2457097,"date":"2020-04-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-04-13T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=324188"},"modified":"2020-04-13T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-04-13T06:00:00","slug":"with-bears-emerging-in-aspen-area-humans-need-to-start-securing-food-homes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/with-bears-emerging-in-aspen-area-humans-need-to-start-securing-food-homes\/","title":{"rendered":"With bears emerging in Aspen area, humans need to start securing food, homes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bears hang out in the top of a Blue Spruce in Aspen on Thursday, October 10, 2019. (Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times)<\/strong>
Kelsey Brunner\/The Aspen Times<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Colorado Parks and Wildlife received nearly 950 calls about black bear incidents and sightings in Pitkin County last year \u2014 far more than other mountain hotspots.<\/p>\n

Wildlife officers received 313 bears calls in La Plata County, which includes Durango, and 112 calls in Eagle County, which includes Vail, according to Randy Hampton, public information officer for CPW\u2019s Northwest Region.<\/p>\n

The highest number of calls in Pitkin County, 442, involved damage to homes, cars and other property by bears trying to access food sources, Hampton said. One incident involved a bear attack<\/a> on a hiker in Hunter Creek Valley.<\/p>\n

With bears starting to stir as they stumble out of winter hibernation, CPW is renewing its annual effort to get homeowners and visitors in the Colorado mountains to heed the call to avoid creating situations that allow bears to access food. That means keeping food out of cars, locking ground-floor windows and doors in homes and garages, bringing pet food inside, forgoing bird feeders and cleaning grills.<\/p>\n

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