A San Juan County Sheriff’s Deputy shot and accidentally killed a mother black bear with less-lethal beanbag rounds in downtown Silverton Tuesday night. The sow’s two cubs were captured by Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers and were being released Wednesday.
Deputy Adam Clifton arrived in the alley behind Handlebars Food & Saloon, located at Greene Street and West 13th Street, around 9 p.m., according to the restaurant’s owner, Ken Boden, who witnessed the event.
A crowd of people had gathered to observe the family of bears and Clifton was monitoring the situation. The sow was on top of a shed roof and the two cubs had climbed a utility pole nearby.
The deputy was attempting to haze the bears using less-lethal means when he shot the mother bear with a beanbag round from a shotgun.
“Once they the deputy shot the beanbag, it hit the mother and she got down,” Boden said. “So she got down and the cubs followed her down and they went down the alley, then I lost sight of them.”
CPW Spokesman John Livingston confirmed that the bear had died when a beanbag fatally hit the animal below the rib cage near its hind quarters.
It was not immediately clear whether the bear had been shot more than once.
Wildlife officers worked through the night to capture the two cubs, who were determined to be in good body condition. Although CPW sometimes sends young bears captured to a rehabilitation center, Livingston said the cubs’ healthy state allowed officers to immediately release them together into the wild.
Bears at this time of year are seeking 20,000 calories daily to prepare for hibernation and will prowl unsecured dumpsters and trash. Boden said his dumpster is secured with a cable and appeared intact Wednesday morning, but trash possibly left next to it by tourists had been strewed across the alley.
Across Southwest Colorado, CPW is reporting a heightened number of bear sightings and encounters even in the face of what experts say is a decent forage yield.
Livingston said reports and social media posts had indicated that the bears had been around Silverton for some time.
“The more comfortable bears get in towns like that and the longer they're there, the chance of human bear conflict just becomes a larger possibility,” Livingston said. “… Trying to move bears out of town, haze them away (and) let them not feel comfortable is really key.”
Sheriff Bruce Conrad declined to comment on the matter for the time being.
Livingston said CPW works closely with other law enforcement agencies to respond to wildlife issues as they arise and has engaged with the San County County Sheriff’s Department in the past to address bears in town. He described the use of less-lethal rounds as a “common” and “appropriate” method of hazing bears.
“Our wildlife officers have large districts to patrol, so can't be everywhere all at once, and certainly trust in our partnership with other law enforcement agencies to use their discretion and management as well in certain instances,” he said.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
This story has been updated to reflect a previous error. CPW generally does not send bears to a rehabilitation center after Aug. 15.
