Grizzly Bears in Colorado

“http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1322060&secid=1

September 28, 2006

Hunters report sighting grizzly bears in Colorado


By PAM ZUBECK THE GAZETTE

Two hunters say they spotted a female grizzly bear and two cubs near Independence Pass last week.

If the sighting is confirmed, it would be the species’ first known appearance in Colorado in 27 years.

Taking the report seriously, Division of Wildlife officials used a helicopter with videographers and photographers on board Thursday to search the area but found no evidence to substantiate the report.

The hunters told wildlife officials they watched the bear and her cubs the morning of Sept. 20 from about 80 yards for about a minute through binoculars and a spotting scope. The bears were in a clearing near Independence Pass.

The hunters didn’t find tracks or scat after the bears moved on. An initial search on foot by wildlife officials Saturday also was unsuccessful.

Bears groom themselves, so if scat were found, a grizzly bear’s telltale silver-tipped hairs would provide proof the elusive bruin still stalks Colorado.

Officials found the hunters’ story “worthy of further investigation,” because both have some knowledge of bears, Division of Wildlife spokesman Tyler Baskfield said.

Beyond that, officials refused to identify the hunters or give information about their background and knowledge.

“We get grizzly sightings periodically throughout the state,” he said. “In this particular case, both gentlemen did have a background where they were familiar with both grizzlies and black bears. We owed it to the public to investigate further.”

He said the two hunters requested they not be identified.

Baskfield said Thursday’s search was aimed at tracks, scat, hair samples or any other physical evidence.

“Right now, we’re talking to personnel that went up in the helicopter and haven’t decided what’s going to take place in the near future,” he said.

“If we would find some evidence, we will keep the public up to speed,” he added.

Although black bears are common in Colorado, the last sighting of a grizzly here dates to Sept. 23, 1979, when an outfitter on an archery elk hunt was attacked by a female grizzly in what is now the South San Juan Wilderness. He survived the attack, but the grizzly was killed.

The Division of Wildlife closed its books on the grizzly in 1982, after concluding it was unlikely that grizzlies survived the decades of being killed by ranchers protecting their herds.

Because of habitat issues, it’s unlikely grizzlies could migrate here from Yellowstone Park. Thus, as implausible as it may seem, if grizzlies remain in Colorado they are most likely longtime survivors of a reclusive, remnant population.

Baskfield refused to discuss what could happen if a grizzly’s presence is confirmed.

“It’s all hypothetical,” he said. “It’s tough for me to discuss that. We haven’t discussed that. We’re trying to find physical evidence at this point. When that evidence is found, we’ll proceed methodically at that point.”

Confirming the presence of the endangered species in Colorado could set off a political chain reaction, starting with a moratorium on bear hunting in the area and potentially halting timber sales.

It also could revive debate over reintroducing the bears to the state, an idea supported by some environmentalists and opposed by stockmen.

As for whether the grizzlies pose a danger to people living or hiking in the Independence Pass area, Baskfield said, “Anytime they go into the back country, there are precautions they should take, whether for bears or other types of wildlife.”

For more information on grizzlies, http://mountain-prairie.fws.gov/species/mammals/grizzly/”

“Guess those Ranchers need to start killin' again, eh?”

“As long as I don't become "lunch", it's cool they might be back!! So far we haven't run into any bear or big cats on our hikes and that's good thing!! Hey, do those "Bear Bells", they sell at REI really work?? Probably like the "deer horns" they tried to hawk on us when we did motorcycle touring! ;)

B.J. Ondo
Colorado Springs, CO.”

“Grizzly Bears being shy of people isn't necesarily a bad thing. LOL”

“How do you tell Grizzly Bear poop from Black Bear poop???

Grizzly Bear poop smells like peppers and has little bells in it. ;-)
last edited: 9/29/06 11:19:14 AM”

“SS, pls. tell us, you ain't been sniff'in GB poop again!!! :O”

“It's better than what he use to do; the taste test.”

“Now, if we could just get the wolves reintroduced in RMNP.....

:)

Apex predators ROCK!”

“Some say the bells do work but if you can carry one a conversation it will work just as well. I for one find the bells annoying. Also just make sure you are making some noise when you enter into blind corners, reach the apex of a hill. As I try to say use common sense but sometimes people lack that.”

“ive been hearing rumors and unsubstantiated sightings for years. same for wolves. itll be big news if its ever confirmed, and make for some nervous hiking in the area”

“I keep remembering that there has supposedly never been a recorded attack by a healthy wolf on a human in the lower 48. Then again I really do not like going where I am midway down the food chain.”

““I keep remembering that there has supposedly never been a recorded attack by a healthy wolf on a human in the lower 48. Then again I really do not like going where I am midway down the food chain.”
XL400236

XL no recorded attacks because you'd have to make it back alive in order to record it!!!!”

“Das what Ima tinking.....what is it Dead Men Tell no tales?”

“Sarabelle should investigate this. It could be the elusive skeery woof bare. Ooooooooooooh!”

“Cabin owner fed bruins for years despite state's pleas
By Jennifer Brown
The Denver Post
Posted: 08/09/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT


In the evenings, Donna Munson liked to sit in front of her picture window and watch the bears amble toward her Ouray County log cabin for dinner.

The 74-year-old woman � who stocked her backyard with dog food, fruit and yogurt � was found dead outside her home Friday, being eaten by a bear.

It was still unknown Saturday whether a bear killed Munson or whether one or more animals consumed part of her body after her death. But people who knew her said she was an eccentric wildlife lover who had been feeding bears, elk, skunks and raccoons for years.

Munson, who rented half of her home in southwestern Colorado to several people over the years, told one of them that "when the time came, she wanted to go out with the bears."

"She was a very sweet lady," said Tammy York of Paonia, who rented part of Munson's house several years ago. "She just loved nature. She probably shouldn't have been alone out there in her state."

Colorado Division of Wildlife agents had asked Munson so many times over the past decade to stop feeding bears that she quit taking their phone calls or accepting their certified letters and tried to ban them from her property.

Neighbors complained about a growing number of bears in the hills, ransacking trash cans and even trying to break into houses this summer. Still, Munson kept feeding the bears.

Two of the bruins were shot and killed by Ouray County sheriff's deputies Friday while they investigated Munson's death. Deputies said the animals were threatening and had no fear of people.

Two other bears were captured and euthanized in July after a caretaker at Munson's cabin complained they were too aggressive. Division of Wildlife authorities caught them both the first day they set traps.

"We tried to do everything possible to gain her cooperation," said Tyler Baskfield, DOW spokesman. "Obviously, this is a situation that everybody feels bad about, but it illustrates what can happen."

Bears fed by humans lose their instinct to fear people and "they expect that food source to continue," he said.

"Not only are you putting yourself at risk, you're putting anyone else who may come in contact with that animal at risk because they are expecting a handout," Baskfield said.

The night before her death, Munson planned to feed an injured baby bear hard-boiled eggs and yogurt, another former tenant said. And she had planned to swat a large bear that was bothering the baby bear with a broom.

"She didn't have a chance in hell," said Connie Barnes, who lived with Munson for five years and never went outside after dark without a spotlight, her husband and his BB gun.

Munson lived in the cabin, which bordered federal land, with her husband, "Ridgway Jack," until his death about 14 years ago, Barnes said. Jack Munson adopted a baby elk and made their home into an animal sanctuary, even letting a fawn sleep in his bed, Barnes said.

Donna Munson continued caring for animals after her husband's death, leaving a tub of cat food on her picnic table for critters and tossing food in the backyard and out her windows for bears. The elderly woman, who used a walker, bought giant bags of Ol' Roy dog food for the bears and had pallets of grain delivered for elk and deer, Barnes said.

"She had skunks that came in her house," Barnes said. "It sounds ridiculous to people, but you had to know her. She was a very loving woman, so much into animals."

Two women who cleaned Munson's home found her being eaten by a bear Friday, Barnes said.

A necropsy performed on a 250-pound male bear was inconclusive. A necropsy on the other bear killed Friday is ongoing. The Montrose County coroner is performing an autopsy on Munson.

Folks in Ouray and Ridgway, two towns near Munson's house, were upset about the bear deaths and the public safety risk caused by Munson.

"These bears are now not going to be fed and they are going to go to other houses looking for food," said Kate Singer, owner of Kate's Place, a cafe in downtown Ridgway. "More bears are going to be killed because of what this woman did. It's a bad situation, and people are not happy about it."

Munson had enclosed her porch with wire fencing for protection. York, her former tenant, said Munson had the fence installed when York and her two children, ages 1 and 4 at the time, moved in with her.

The bears would come within 6 feet of the porch and peer in the windows.

"We were in the zoo," she recalled, saying she moved out after about a year because the animals � especially the skunks � "got to be too much." While she lived there, a bear busted York's car window and left bite marks in her seat trying to get some leftover french fries.

Munson would be devastated by the bears' deaths, York said.

"That's the worst part," she said. "That would be horrible for her if she knew what her death had meant to the bears."”

“Those bears were liberals Ms Munson was 'mommy' government and they both got it in the end. Liberals always taking the handout and, eventually, biting (and eating) the hand that feeds them.”

“A fed bear is a dead bear.”

“I liked this part.

She didn't have a chance in hell," said Connie Barnes, who lived with Munson for five years and never went outside after dark without a spotlight, her husband and his BB gun.

That'll save 'em!”

“what does this have to do with grizzlies?”

“nothing, but it was a pretty good example of thread recycling.”

“Grizzly action?”

“Two women who cleaned Munson's home found her being eaten by a bear Friday...

A grizzly sight, for sure.”

“Crash would #&%!$ if you gave him a $100 bill and it was old and worn.”

“Some think there are grizzlies in CO in the Cow Creek basin outside of Silverton.”

“http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/20348401/detail.html

Bear did kill woman.”

“terrible story”

“Well, she did feed the bears, literally.”

“stovie would b!tch if you gave him a 16-year old girl and she was old and worn”

“Envriowackos tell you to wear bells and carry pepper spray....

Forest Service Personnel teach you to identify the scat.

Brown Bear scat has berries and twigs in it.

Grizzly scat has little bells and smells like Pepper spray.”

“An oldie but goodie.”

“...about bear relocations in cases like this...instead, we should trank the HUMAN problems, and relocate them to a new habitat far from bears...I'm thinking Death Valley....”

“in this case that would have been appropriate.”

“At least she fed the bear before it was shot.”

“Laughing at el muerto is funny, particularly for those walking thin line.”

“T*lt is so funny.”

“Seniorita Stubbie, I am not el diablo Tilt.”

“boooooooooooringggggggggggggggg”

“and yet, you keep coming back”

“booooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrring”