Chama NM bear

Neat bear sculpture in downtown Chama, NM. June 2010. (Click on photo for a larger view).

bear-proofing photo examples

Examples of wildlife-resistant and wildlife-proof trash containers available in our area. (Click on photos for a larger view).

Below are examples of wildlife-resistant trash containers, manufactured by BearSaver, available for city residents at $4 a month. To order, call the City of Durango Department of Sustainable Services at 375-5004.

Example of wildlife-resistant trash containers available for for county residents via Waste Management and WCA Transit Waste. (WM shown here).

One size of wildlife-proof dumpsters available from WCA Transit Waste. Phone: 247-0646

A couple examples of wildlife-proof dumpsters available from Waste Management. Phone: 247-1821

Dumpsters available from the City of Durango Department of Sustainable Services. Phone: 375-5004.

a couple recent pics

Here are a couple recent bear-related pics from the area.

A reportedly BIG bear got into trash near Ball Lane, Sat. May 8th. The friend that reported this is looking into wildlife-proof dumpsters from either the city, WCA Transit Waste or Waste Management to replace the current city-provided 300-gallon containers.

A bear got into a dumpster and damaged a garage door off CR 234, Friday, May 7th. The owners plan to have Waste Management swap the plastic lids out for metal wildlife-proof ones.

Feed set out, presumably to feed ducks, off Junction Creek.

a bear story

While walking my dog in March, I found a dead bear. More precisely, the skeletal remains of a bear. The bear had most likely been hit by a vehicle and made its way partly up the steep hillside off US Hwy 160 before expiring. Two faded, blue ear tags dated 2005 and numbered 75 were lying next to the sun-bleached skull.

That’s not even the weird part.

The Colorado Division of Wildlife was nice enough to invite me in 2005 to see the process of relocating a bear from its capture site. The bear I saw, a female, was one of two captured in Rafter J, after causing property damage to storage sheds and a vehicle, all of which contained food. 

I have photos of the other bear, a large male, in educational presentations I make to the public. That bear, transported and released well north of Dolores, sported two blue ear tags - dated 2005 and numbered 75.

In my talks, I mention that black bear relocation feels good and people demand it be done. But relocating bears is a band-aid approach to bear-human issues. Relocation  has better success in younger bears more open to a change in behavior. (Anyone that's trained dogs knows training a puppy has better success than trying to correct bad habits in an older dog set in its ways).

Studies have shown that around 85% of black bears relocations fail, as bears moved to unfamiliar habitats continue their problematic behavior in a new location, get killed by other bears or most likely, make a beeline back home to the habitats they grew up in and know best. 

Bear “2005-75” is an example. This bear made the 50+ miles back to its original home range only to, probably, meet its fate with the front end of a vehicle on a dumpster-laden stretch of US Highway 160. Bear “2005-75” was, at a minimum, twice a victim of bear-human conflict.

Instead of demanding that a state agency solve problems we’re creating maybe we should focus efforts on not attracting bears with foods, (like food stored in sheds and vehicles for instance),  in the first place. Just a thought.

Bear relocation photos courtesy: CDOW, 2005.

funny bear video

Still funny. Commercial for John West Red Salmon.

Courtesy of YouTube.

photo of the day

For no particular reason, neither here nor there.

three-legged black bear video

This is either pretty cool and worth applauding, or just a wee bit unsettling, depending on your point of view. If anything it shows how adaptable black bears can be. Local black bear researcher Tom Beck told me of the archaic leg snares biologists used in bear studies sometimes mutilating the feet of bears -- in one case a sow lost both front feet. 

Not sure where this video originated or any more about it. It's kind of freaky - and may explain some bigfoot sightings!!