This post is both correct and incorrect. There are no brown bears, as in there are no Ursus arctos also known as grizzly bears. But there are brown colored black bears in Colorado, which is probably what the OP saw.
While Ursus Arctos and Ursus Horiribilis are both considered locally extinct to the state, Arctos has been confirmed to be in Southern Wyoming. It isn't inconceivable that one or two are in far north Colorado. There is even a confirmed wolverine presence up there now. Arctos and even Horribilis have been steadily expanding their ranges southward for s while now.
Honestly, I was a little bit surprised to hear the OP saw a black bear at Union and Austin Bluffs. I figured east of 25 would be too far for black bears.
Rarely, they've been spotted east of Powers. You can walk from the foothills to just past Powers without walking across a street. Also consider the proximity of Ute Valley, Pulpit Rock, the Austin Bluffs Open Space and Palmer Park and I'm surprised it doesn't happen a bit more often.
Other than the fact that they have to cross through about a million acres where ranchers would be extremely happy to kill them (yes I aware that it has to be âself defenseâ - considering a grizzly will charge when shot itâs be extremely hard to prove one hunted the bear)
No man. This is it. The grizzly has finally returned home to the Rocky Mountains. The first sighting in half a century and itâs near Austin Bluffs Pkwy in Colorado Springs. Didnât you hear? OP âseen him @ 6:03 amâ
Black bears are rarely aggressive and are not any more dangerous than other wildlife in the area. They will go out of their way to avoid confrontations and interactions with humans. Please stop spreading misinformation.
Barking dog + mother and cub. Yes, black bears are dangerous. In April of 2021 a woman in Colorado lost her life this way.
2014 a 14 y.o. had a black bear force itself into the boys tent and bit him near Loveland.
In June of 2025 a black bear attacked a campground full of children near Aspen.
While yes, there is an established behavior of avoidance -IN NATURE, black bears entering urban environments are often desensitized to human presence to varying degrees. ALWAYS treat encounters as though the animal could be aggressive. They will attack dogs, children and even adults if threatened (by their perspective, not yours) or even if they're hungry enough.
I love the wildlife here, that's why I both respect and never underestimate it. Nor do I spread "misinformation" about it.
Barking dog + mother and cub. Yes, black bears are dangerous. In April of 2021 a woman in Colorado lost her life this way.
The woman who died in Durango did have dogs, but we don't actually know what happened that caused the attack, only that a black bear mother with cubs were found (and euthanized) and had been eating her.
The truth is that black bear fatalities are exceedingly rare in Colorado, rarer than people being struck by lightning. If we exclude the 2009 case where someone had literally been feeding bears, then it was ~30 years from the 1993 fatality to the 2021 fatality. Before that was the 70s. Before that was the 30s at a zoo...
A bear avoided gets to live, a bear that attacks does not. It's not just about protecting people. An idiot will try to pet the bear while taking a selfie, get attacked, and the bear gets punished. Infrequency does not eliminate possibility or the consequences.
Hunters legally kill ~1000 bears in Colorado each year. CPW kills ~100, but I don't know if those are due to livestock issues or human issues. I don't know about NPS.
I definitely think the education on bears needs to be about food sources and camping. And that education is relevant for all animals, not just bears.
Absolutely. "Most" hunting of them is livestock-related though some still hunt for fur. There is -sadly- even a market for their gallbladders is some states.
There have been only about a handful of fatal attacks in Colorado since 1960. When you label the bears as "dangerous", that leads people to believe that CPW needs to be called to remove them and that's basically a death sentence for the bear.
It's important to be respectful of the wildlife here and realize that as long as we continue to encroach on their homes, we will see them more often in urban and suburban areas.
When CPW is called on a individual bear for the first time it gets tracked. Repeated problems generally gets the bear relocated to the wilderness. Only after that does euthanasia become a possibility.
Yes I agree that a balance must between our city and it's surroundings, esp given the volume of open spaces and the unintentional wildlife corridors that cross town. I believe that CPW should only be called when there is a true problem (not a bear stealing Edelweiss's dumpster lol) and that local "off-channel" information sharing through reddit and other localized SM accounts are better 90% of the time. However, that balance can only be truly achieved through the full acceptance of what that wildlife is capable of. I don't pet the bighorn and I don't try to take close-ups of the bears, esp If I can't tell if it's a mommy or not. Regardless of their infrequency, attacks do happen and should always be considered a possibility. As much as I hate Euthanasia and acknowledge that it's largely us to blame, sometimes there isn't much else that can be done.
Wildlife encounters here in Colorado Springs are going to be inevitable and it's clear people don't take the time to educate themselves about these animals (or any wildlife for that matter)--they just post hysterically on social media which usually results in negative attention on the bear.
But the OP simply stated the sighting, the time and location with an advisement of caution. Literally nothing "hysterical" in the op. My advisement that Black bears are dangerous is factually verified and simply stated -also not "hysterical" my reminding people that they are dangerous (which they absolutely are) is to keep people from trying to find it to take pictures, selfies or pet it, which could result in the bear getting put down. Your use of the word "hysterical" is in and of itself hysterical.
It's amazing and humbling to be that close to them at the zoo. Last time I was there they were right near the pathway and being very active. Enormous creatures.
Hey, ya know, people gonna talk shit, i knew that while writing the post. But if I saved someone from being mauled, (tho i will never know) then its worth the mindless bashing.
Thanks for correcting me tho that it was likely a black bear in brown fur.
It's all good. The bears often make their way up the water ways and open spaces. It's not unusual to see them in that area. They are all over the Broadmoor, OCC and Manitou as well.
Generally speaking they are very skittish and avoid confrontation. The exception would be a mom + cubs. But even then I don't think anyone's been actually hurt by a bear here in a long time.
Hey, you did the exact right thing. The way you did it started localized conversations about the subject. If you look at how so many of our open spaces connect, reporting sightings like these are important as black bear sightings even happen east of Powers from time to time. As for the black/brown bit, you being mistaken is actually a far better thing than it would be had you been correct. An actual brown bear in that area is probably going to kill someone(s).
Black bear attacks are extremely rare. You didn't save anyone from being mauled. You shared paranoia. And it wasn't likely a black bear, it was. We don't have grizzlies within hundreds of miles from here except for zoos.Â
Ok bro, next time you see a bear, just stand there and let it come up to you. Then ask it "Who's a good wittle bear?" Let's see if you walk away unscathed.
Last grizzly was killed in 1979 by a Mr. ed wiseman who fought and killed this bear using only a well placed stab with his arrow! This is honestly so worth a read if you want the full story about it Ed Wiseman grizzly attack
Sure, it was definitely worth you being fucking rude just because someone wanted to let people know they saw a bear in the middle of town, where most people don't usually see them.
I mean, I didn't say no one has ever seen them, I said most people don't usually see them. And regardless, it's still not a reason for the person above to be rude about it.
Boy, you're right, silly me. It's slightly north-west of being right in the middle. And none of that is an excuse to be a rude prick to someone just trying to share that they saw something. Maybe they're new in town, or to that area. Maybe they haven't been lucky enough to see more wildlife there. Regardless, being a sarcastic jerk in response to a simple post like that was absolutely uncalled for.
No it was called for. When people make a big deal about bear sightings and start making calls, CPW gets involved and there's a good chance that bear gets tagged or if it's already tagged it may get destroyed. There are a lot of transplants here who think that bears only live on the mountain and don't know that we have to co-exist here. Be respectful.
lmao, you have the nerve to tell someone else to be respectful when you're a rude prick to someone for posting that they saw a bear? You realize you could have simply said what you just said in this post originally to actually explain your reasoning, rather than just being rude and dismissive?
The geographic middle of sprawl is almost never the âcenterâ but rather the center is the oldest (if there is a downtown) or densest area. This specific area is the opposite of dense and actually quite wild still.
Thanks for the unnecessary pedantic lesson, but my point was to explain what I meant when I said middle.
but never mind, apparently someone stating that they saw a bear is some sort of unthinkable crime around here. Clearly OP should apologize for bothering to say anything. First to the bear, then to everyone on this sub for forcing them to read such filthy language as 'be careful, I saw a bear.'
We donât want clueless midwesterns seeing the post and flocking to the area, parking in the breakdown lane and gawking at their first âgrizzlyâ eating trash from a dumpster.
Yes, and I'm sure a single post from someone on the local subreddit stating that they saw a bear and to be careful was really gonna make that happen. Good thing some heroes were here to be rude and condescending to the person posting it instead of explaining anything to the person.
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u/g00dmorning99 13d ago
There are no brown bears in Colorado, only black bears