Famously dubbed the Rodeo Drive of the Rockies, Aspen, Colo., is home to gourmet restaurants, fine jewelry stores, luxury hotels and, for a few months in the summer, bears. “Once a bear gets into a human environment they quickly realize the fried chicken you or I had for dinner last night and may have put in the trash can is highly caloric,” said Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Randy Hampton.
Bears need nearly 20,000 calories a day to bulk up before hibernating and feed for 20 hours a day to get it.
Officials are now concerned that across Colorado too many wild bears have developed a tasted for human food and are getting used to people. They are now actively telling residents to be, literally, mean to the bears. Yell at them, throw rocks and if they charge you, stand up to them. “You want to be as big, as large as possible, and you always want to fight back with a black bear,” said Hampton. Black bears tend to be timid and are generally not aggressive.
“When they are utilizing our environment as their habitat in that manner, they are also very likely to defend that territory, ” said Hampton. “And so it can be a dangerous situation when bears get to the point where they are breaking into homes to get food.” In Aspen, three people this summer have been attacked in their own homes, including Maureen Hirsch. A bear came into her house through locked French doors.
From the bears POV the headline should read…Toni Colorado Town Overrun by tasty SNOBS!!!
Maybe it’s just another case of too many people. Top level predators, even omnivorous ones like ourselves, cannot breed like rats indefinitely. Without humans, bear numbers will be limited by availability of their natural food. With wasteful humans throwing away food all the time and caching large quantities of it in places bears can gain access too, we upset the balance.
#6 – Nth of the 49th,
Good points. People need to be more knowledgeable about our world and the other intelligences with whom we share it.
#8 – Eric,
Relocation is the best solution, but if it comes back, it should be put down.
Shouldn’t they do the same to the humans who don’t lock the dumpster?
Remember, the bear is a who, not a what. He or she really does have just as much right to live as you or I. If humans are idiots around bears, relocate them to a place with no bears.
Unfortunately IMNSHO, NYC has already eradicated all of our bears. So, send us your idiot humans, see if they survive here.
Actually, we could use a few of your bears here too to thin the heard. I’ll probably be first to go as I stand in central park with my camera and say things like “cool, now I’m getting head shots of the bear!! Look at those teeth …”
Scott, Please go to Colorado and feed yourself to the bears. We need people like you to lead by example or else we’ll never get down to 30 million.
#24 – herd,
I hope to do so (actually, the Sundabarans sounds even better, call me Purina Tiger Chow). I’m waiting ’til the time is right. For now, I have done my part by avoiding creating more humans, which really does have the same effect.
Oh yes by all means, get agressive with a wild animal dangerous enough to kill and eat you (not necessarily in that order). Are the people of Aspen really that stupid?
I love the comment: “Eat The Rich!”
But “bat21″ forgot the follow up: “Have it catered.”
Any town described as “Toni” should have the residence beat with sticks. You know the douche baggery must be rampant there.
Any town described as “Toni” should have the residents beat with sticks. You know the douche baggery must be rampant there.
I will be happy to sell Aspen, Coloradoian my specially made bear smacking stick.
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#30 noname, funny!
But seriously, it’s a shame that someone would consider buying sticks that aren’t limited edition with certificates of authenticity like my sticks are. Made of ultra-hard quebracho wood from the our private forest in South America, our sticks are guaranteed against breakage in even the most savage bear encounter.
Of course, that level of quality and exclusivity does come at a price, but if you really need to know the cost, you can’t afford it, and you should just leave Aspen on the next smelly bus out of town. Keep saving your pennies until you no longer need to know the price of the world’s finest bear smacking stick
#31 & 32
Well yoo too guys cen argue all ya like ’bout yer ‘sclusivitee and fancy pancy nancy wood. Heer ’bouts we use thet time tested ole, provened weapon, the All ‘Merican (made in Canada) baseball bat.
An I use un too. Too when I’m really horny.
People don’t fall for the those cheap imitation sticks.
Are you tired of having your stick break during a live or death Bear struggle? How often has that happened?
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Another way many Aspen residents keep their kids out of the reach of hungry bears is with jet-powered merry-go-rounds. The bears are often frightened by the fast-spinning young Aspenites, and quickly go in search of slower-moving children.
I probably don’t have to mention that backyard play equipment like this can be very expensive, but Aspen residents seem to love their children enough to give them the very best.
A dozen or so big coon hounds and a few guys with paint ball guns loaded with hard rubber balls would convince them to haul butt out of town.
Um maybe half a dozen big coon hounds. We want to run them off not kill them.
As wealthy as Aspen is. And they can come up with alternative food sources for the bears. Far from town. No. Wait until the bears are starving. And descend on the populous. Then just advice scaring them away. Ha. How long before they don’t scare so easily? Reserve some land beyond town limits. And keep it well grown with what bears really ought to eat. Not fast food.