Record-Breaking Bear Conflicts Hit Colorado: What CPW Wants Residents Doing Right Now

Ten. That's how many people a black bear has hurt in Colorado so far in 2026, and it's the most the state has ever recorded.

The two newest ones happened in southern Colorado, about two days apart. Near South Fork, something hit a woman's tent at Park Creek Campground and bit her right arm through the fabric.

Then in Durango, around 2 a.m., a bear ripped the screen off a partly open bedroom window, climbed into a condo, and swiped at a 17-year-old hiding under her blankets, leaving three scratches on her stomach.

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That's not a camping story. That's a bedroom.

Colorado bear attacks hit a record in 2026

The attacks are just the loudest part. Colorado Parks and Wildlife says reported incidents this year are running 3.6 times the five-year average, relocations are up 3.5 times, and bears killed are up 2.7 times.

Why? Drought, a lousy snowpack, and wildfires wiped out a lot of the natural food, so bears are traveling farther and taking bigger risks to eat. Which means us.

Bears in Grand Junction neighborhoods this year

Okay, but that's Durango and the San Luis Valley. We're down on the valley floor.

Yeah, about that. Back in June, Mesa County deputies started getting calls around 5 a.m. about a black bear roaming backyards just south of I-70 East. CPW tranquilized it and moved it up to the Grand Mesa.

And Otis Latham, a Colorado rancher, told Cowboy State Daily bears were around his place a lot this summer, and locking up his dumpsters helped a ton.

Read More: Beyond the Aspen Colors: The Untold Wildlife Drama of Fall in Colorado

What Grand Valley residents should do about trash and fruit trees this fall

Here's why fall is the stretch to worry about. Bears are in hyperphagia, the pre-den eating binge, chasing roughly 20,000 calories a day. This gets worse before it gets better.

So:

• Keep trash inside or locked until pickup morning.
• Pick fruit as it ripens and clean up what drops. That apple tree in Orchard Mesa counts.
• Pull bird feeders and bring in pet food.
• Close and lock ground-floor doors and windows at night. That's CPW's ask after the Durango attack.

A bear that figures out your trash can doesn't usually get a second relocation. CPW had already euthanized 294 bears through the end of August, compared to 83 at that point last year.

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