Colorado Bear Euthanized After Breaking Into Home Three Times

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) has euthanized a bear that broke into a Colorado Springs home three times.

According to a press release from the agency, on April 30, the bear wandered through an open door into the mudroom of a home in the Broadmoor neighborhood, an area that CPW says is "prime bear habitat."

The animal then ventured into the kitchen, only leaving after the homeowner began banging pots and pans. The bear, which weighed between 225 to 250 pounds, entered the house again the following night.

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After setting up traps and a trail camera, CPW officers discovered that the bear was showing up at the home at the same time every night. On Friday (May 5), the agency captured the bear and humanely euthanized it per state policy.

The release notes that the bear was breaking into the house because it saw human homes as a source of food. CPW cited one of the homeowners who was found to be feeding big game and luring bears.

"This bear had become habituated to people, associating them as a food source. This created a dangerous situation when the bear was confronted in a confined space in the home," said Tim Kroening, CPW's Area Wildlife Manager for the Pikes Peak region, in the release. "Feeding bears and other wildlife is illegal for a reason."

Kroening noted that along with the policy requiring dangerous bears to be euthanized, CPW could not have relocated the bear because it would have entered other homes due to Colorado's dense population.

CPW is still investigating the situation and asking the public to remain Bear Aware.