Colorado has
an abundant population of black bears. Black bears can cause a number of conflicts,
especially in dry years when their natural foods of berries and acorns are in
short supply. Bears occasionally raid beehives, garbage cans, camp sites, and
trailer houses in search of food. Bears also enter yards in search of food such
as grease on barbecue grills or sugar water in humming bird feeders. Black bears
occasionally kill livestock, and occasionally show aggression when humans come
between a sow and her cubs. Many conflicts with bears can be avoided. Thus, do
your part to avoid conflicts, because conflict-prone bears are often killed
For information on biology and ecology of black bears and reducing conflicts
where they are searching for food or while you are camping or hiking, see the
following Colorado Division of Wildlife bulletins: For information on reducing
black bear conflicts with beehives see the following Colorado State University
Extension bulletin: Managing
Bear Damage to Beehives For information on reducing black
bear predation on livestock, see the following chapter on carnivores in the book
RANGELAND WILDLIFE, published by the Society for Range Management.
Carnivores For
additional information on use of livestock guarding dogs for deterring bear predation
on domestic sheep, see the following Colorado State University Extension
Bulletin: Livestock
Guard Dogs, Llamas, and Donkeys For sources of supplies
to reduce or prevent conflicts with bears, see the following: The Colorado
Division of Wildlife provides fencing materials to protect commercial apiaries.
See Fencing
for other suppliers. Additional
information:
Some of these resources are in Adobe Acrobat PDF format, which requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader program.
Bears
Black
Bears - Mammals Guide
Prevention
and Control of Wildlife Damage
| 
