Colorado’s Bear Problem Is Getting Worse

What Could Go Wrong

Aug 19

3 min read

Colorado’s bears are running short on the food they normally find in the mountains, and that is sending more of them into neighborhoods, businesses and backyards.

The reason is simple: the wild buffet isn’t producing like it normally does.

Drought has dried up grasses, while berries and other natural foods are scarce in parts of Colorado.

Gambel oak trees, which normally provide bears with a valuable supply of acorns, are also producing a weak crop in some areas.

That matters because bears are entering the part of the year when they need to pack on serious calories before winter.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife says a bear preparing for winter can consume as much as 20,000 calories a day and spend up to 20 hours awake looking for food.

And when the food isn't in the woods?

The bears go where the food is.

The Numbers Are Getting Hard to Ignore

As of Aug. 13, Colorado Parks and Wildlife had received 6,129 reports of bear sightings and incidents in 2026.

That's already more than the agency received during all of 2025, when there were 5,299 reports.

In Pitkin County, reports were up nearly 31% over the same period last year, while incidents involving property damage or bears getting into food and other sources were up 56%.

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Aspen is seeing an especially dramatic increase.

The city recorded 74 incidents involving bears getting into trash, recycling and compost by this point in 2024. That number climbed to 127 in 2025.

This year?

Wildlife officials say drought and wildfire have contributed to the difficult conditions facing Colorado's wildlife.

Your Garbage Can Could Be a Bear Buffet

Here's where homeowners need to pay attention.

A bear doesn't care whether its next meal comes from a berry bush or a garbage bin.

Restaurants, dumpsters, bird feeders, pet food, grills, unsecured trash and even an unlocked garage can provide exactly what a hungry bear is looking for: lots of calories with very little effort.

And once a bear finds an easy meal, it may remember the location.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, bears can remember where they found food for up to two years.

That means one successful raid can turn your property into a repeat destination.

It's the wildlife equivalent of leaving the front door open and putting up a dinner invitation.

Don't Reward the Bear

The lesson for homeowners is straightforward:

Don't make your property the easiest meal in the neighborhood.

Secure garbage and recycling. Keep pet food indoors. Remove bird feeders when bears are active.

Clean and secure outdoor grills. Lock vehicles, doors and windows. Don't leave an easy source of food sitting outside overnight.

And if a bear repeatedly shows up or starts getting into garages or other structures, report it early.

Wildlife officials say early intervention gives them more options to deal with a problem before it becomes a dangerous conflict.

That's important because relocation isn't necessarily a permanent solution. Some relocated bears can return to the area where the original conflict occurred.

The Bigger Problem Is Still Ahead

The timing is what makes this situation particularly concerning.

Late summer and fall are when bears go into hyperphagia, dramatically increasing their food intake before winter.

If natural sources such as acorns and berries remain scarce, more bears may be tempted to leave the woods and search neighborhoods and communities for an easier meal.

For Colorado residents, the message isn't complicated.

Lock it up. Clean it up. Don't feed the wildlife. And don't wait until a bear is inside your garage to take the problem seriously.

A bear that gets nothing from your property has little reason to keep coming back.

A bear that finds an easy meal?

It remembers. And it comes back.

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