BOULDER, Colo. — A hungry black bear that broke into a Boulder home twice in one night this week returned to the same property again Thursday, according to the homeowner.
Marni Pogachefsky shared a new video of the bear peering through the glass door of her home on Thursday night with Denver7. The video shows the bear reaching for the door handle before Pogachefsky and her roommate immediately locked the door.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) officials said they have not been called to this home, but the video is concerning.
“I see some dangerous bear behavior in that video. That bear clearly knows that there are people in that home and does not care,” said CPW spokeswoman Kara Van Hoose.
Van Hoose told Denver7 anchor Jessica Porter that once a bear knows of a food source, it will keep returning for more, which can be dangerous for people.
“Although they appear cute and cuddly, they are really powerful creatures. They have paws with some claws that can do a lot of damage. They have jaws with powerful teeth,” Van Hoose said. “You don't want to get in a struggle with a bear.”
CPW encourages people to contact them early and often about wildlife.
Boulder
Black bear breaks into Boulder home twice in one night
Pogachefsky told Denver7 the bear had been breaking into her vehicle about two months ago, so she started removing food and locking it.
CPW officials said that right now, bears are still in hyperphagia, spending up to 20 hours a day eating up to 20,000 calories to fatten up for torpor, or hibernation. Hyperphagia in bears lasts several months in the fall season until the end of November.
Linda Masterwon with BearWise, an education and outreach program, encourages homeowners to lock doors and windows, use a bear-resistant container for trash inside a sturdy building until the morning of pick-up, don't leave any food or pet food outside, and do their best to scare off any bear that comes on their property.
“Encouraging bears to hang around is dangerous for people and bears,” Masterwon said.
BearWise has a new fact sheet on how people can safely scare a bear at www.bearwise.org, along with dozens of resources people can download for free.
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