Colorado continued to see increasing conflict between humans and bears in 2024. 

Across the state, Colorado Parks and Wildlife received over 5,000 reports of conflict and sightings of bears — 14.8% higher than the previous five years. 

Of the 5,022 total reports, 2,225 resulted in property damage to a shed, garage, home, vehicle, fences and more. More than half of the reports were linked to trash, 21% to livestock, chickens and beehives, and 18% to bird seed, pet food, barbeque grills, coolers and refrigerators. 

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Of the reported conflicts, less than 2% led to euthanization. The remaining reports led to wildlife officers getting involved early enough to prevent the need to euthanize a bear, according to Parks and Wildlife data.

Colorado has an estimated 17,000 to 20,000 bears. The wildlife agency manages the species across four regions and 18 wildlife areas. 

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The state’s northwest region continues to be where the most conflict between bears and humans is reported. Last year, Parks and Wildlife received 1,914 reports in the region, a 55% increase from 2023. 

Pitkin County, most of Eagle County, and the western portion of Garfield County including Glenwood Springs are responsible for the vast majority of the conflict. 

This area had over 1,200 reports last year — up from 724 in 2023 — the most in the entire state. 

Across the entirety of these counties, Pitkin County had 804 reports in 2024, Garfield County had 454 and Eagle County had 180. 

Reports in these three counties led to 18 bears being relocated from the region and 31 being euthanized. 

Only the southwest management area that includes Montezuma, Delores, San Juan, La Plata and Archuleta counties came close to the reports in Pitkin, Eagle and Garfield counties. The area had 1,003 reports in 2024, a 117% increase from the previous year when it had 427 reports. 

While reports rose in those three northwest counties, other management areas in the region saw a similar level of conflict as in 2023. In the area including Grand and Summit counties, there were 150 reports in 2024, only one more than in 2023. In the area including Routt and Jackson counties, 143 reports were made, down from 167 in 2023. 

Across the northwest, trash-related incidents were responsible for most conflicts in all but the area that includes Moffat and Rio Blanco counties. Livestock-bear conflicts accounted for all but three reports. 

Property damage was reported in 35% of the incidents in the region. 

While bear reports start when the animals come out of hibernation in the spring, they ramp up in the spring and summer months. In 2024, reports were the highest in July and August both statewide and in the northwest. Across Colorado, nearly a quarter of all 2024 reports came in each of those months. 

Food sources are most abundant and daylight is longest during these months, Parks and Wildlife reported. However, when natural conditions are unfavorable — typically due to a late freeze or drought conditions — bears typically move into urban areas to find other sources of food closer to humans. 

In 2024, parts of the northwest region experienced food failure, with a lack of natural food sources like choke cherries or berries due to the cold and wet spring. 

In December, Matt Yamashita, the wildlife manager for Glenwood Springs as well as Pitkin and Eagle counties, reported that even while bears saw a “mild relief from a bumper crop of insects and late-summer rain events which bolstered grass growth” the animals “had already resorted to human-related food sources by then” and conflicts continued in the busy area for bears. 

Kris Middledorf, the area wildlife manager for Jackson and Routt counties, hypothesized that the combination of positive natural forage conditions, mast crop production and education was responsible for the slight decline in conflict in the area. 

While the trends depend on the region, statewide the numbers represent an increase from the previous four years: 

• 2024: 5,022 reports, 68 relocated, 98 euthanized
• 2023: 3,528 reports, 33 relocated, 63 euthanized 
• 2022: 4,293 reports, 59 relocated, 94 euthanized
• 2021: 3,707 reports, 51 relocated, 66 euthanized 

Relocation is chosen as a management option for bears that pose a safety concern but before the bear’s behavior escalates to a dangerous level, according to a news release from Parks and Wildlife. However, the agency warned that relocation does not serve as a “fix-all solution” as there is no way to unteach a bear once it habituates to human-related food sources like trash. 

As bear-human conflict rises, Parks and Wildlife has started a grant to help local groups and governments educate their communities and remove attractants. In 2024, the agency awarded just under $1 million to support individual communities’ efforts to reduce human-bear conflicts. Of the 15 recipients, eight were in the northwest region and all were related to addressing trash-related attractants.