Ouray County residents cited for shooting bears

OURAY COUNTY—Two Ouray County residents were cited by the Department of Wildlife for illegally shooting black bears on their property in two separate incidents, which left one bear wounded and one dead.

Louis Hudson, 77, of Ridgway, and Wilson Jones, 67, of Loghill Village, face charges of unlawful take and hunting of a black bear and $1,370 each in fines.

The first incident, which left a bear wounded, took place on June 12 at approximately 5:45 a.m. A neighbor notified the DOW after witnessing Hudson allegedly shoot the bear, which was in his dumpster, with non-lethal rubber buckshot. Hudson then shot the bear two more times with regular lead birdshots and wounded the animal.

Joe Lewandowski, DOW spokesman for the southwest district in Durango, said that DOW officials searched for the wounded bear shortly after the report was made, but were forced to give up their efforts when brush became too dense. There was no blood trail, leading officials to believe that the bear was not fatally injured.

The incident that left a black bear dead in Loghill Village, north of Ridgway, occurred on June 26, at approximately 9 a.m. The DOW reported that Jones tried to chase the bear off of his driveway by yelling and throwing rocks. When attempts to scare the bear away failed, Jones allegedly shot and killed the bear. It was reported that the bear was not threatening or going towards him at the time it was shot, and there were several attractants on the property, including hummingbird feeders and birdseed feeders.

Lewandowski said that black bears normally do not pose a major threat to humans, because they are typically shy and scared away easily. He also clarified that bears are attracted to food, not humans.

"If food is not readily available, bears will move on," he said.

Lewandowski explained that it is an individual's responsibility to keep bears off their property.

"Bears really live by their nose; they have a tremendous sense of smell," he said.

Bears can sense food from miles away, so homeowners need to practice certain clean-up procedures in order to deter bears.

He suggested keeping trash locked inside of a garage or shed, or secured inside a bear-proof container. Keeping pet food inside, and taking down bird food and hummingbird feeders at night will prevent a bear from wandering onto a person's property.

Also, after barbecuing, people should leave their grill on for a few minutes so grease gets cooked off completely.

If a bear shows up on a person's property, they can notify the DOW immediately. If the problem becomes persistent, the DOW will remove the bear from the area and relocate it several miles away.

If the bear is still a problem in the new area, the DOW will practice their two-strike policy, Lewandowski said. This means the bear will be euthanized, but only if it poses a significant and repeated problem.

Lewandowski explained that if a homeowner fails to keep bear attractants off of their property, the result could be more than they bargained for.

"A female bear has cubs with it for almost a year," he said. "If a mother bear is accustomed to going into an area, those cubs will learn the same behavior."

Lewandowski also said that euthanizing the bear is not a positive solution to keeping bears off a homeowner's property, noting that the bear population could significantly decrease. There are approximately 14,000 black bears currently in Colorado.

Many people do not realize they are attracting wildlife onto their property by simply failing to follow these certain precautions. In August and September, bears will typically eat up to 20,000 calories a day in order to put on enough fat to make it through the winter, Lewandowski said.

"A lot of people are new to Colorado, and the situation is a little different here," Lewandowski said. "We love our wildlife in Colorado, and we have to learn to live with it. We're the ones who have to change our behaviors, because the animals certainly won't."

"We don't have a bear problem, we have a people problem," he said.

To report bear activity, or to learn more about bear-proofing their property, homeowners can contact the DOW office in Montrose at 252-6000.

Contact Marissa Brunner via e-mail at marissab@montrosepress.com