Bear attacks, encounters in Colorado rising at historic rate

Aug. 22, 2026, 5:35 p.m. ET

Bear sightings and encounters are on the rise in Colorado and elsewhere in the United States as the animals travel out of the wild and into populated areas.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers have been busy recently with a series of run-ins with bears finding their way into cars, homes and apartment complexes. The increased sightings come as bears enter hyperphagia, the time in their annual biological cycle when they search for food to build up fat reserves for the winter, according to the CPW.

In Colorado, at least, drought has made it tougher for bears to find natural food. When they can’t find that, they begin foraging in trash cans and looking for food that humans may leave within reach.

“This summer in particular, we ask people to be mindful that wildlife are having to work harder to find food and water,” Casey Cooley, Colorado Parks and Wildlife habitat conservation supervisor, said in a news release. “The best thing we can do to support them is to keep them wild and not feed or disturb them.”

So far this year, Colorado Parks and Wildlife has received 6,129 reports of bear sightings and conflicts through Aug. 13 – nearly twice what the state agency received during the same period last year when it got 3,115 reports. The total has already surpassed the 5,299 reports recorded during all of 2025 and is on pace to be the highest since the agency began digitally tracking bear-human interactions in 2019.

Bears on the move in Colorado

Here are some recent bears that made the news in Colorado:

Aspen: A homeless man sleeping in Rio Grande Park said he awoke Aug. 19 to a bear biting him on the head, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said. The man escaped and was transported to a hospital by ambulance, where he was treated for head and facial injuries and later released. Wildlife officers found the bear in the park and humanely euthanized it, in accordance with agency policy, CPW said.
Steamboat Springs: The previous day, a bear entered a home in Steamboat Springs early in the morning Aug. 18, damaging the wooden frame of a sliding glass door and knocking it off its track. When the woman inside attempted to chase the animal outside, the bear struck her in the face, causing cuts, the CPW said. She drove herself to a local hospital, where she was treated and released. Wildlife officers collected hair samples from the broken door for DNA analysis and set a trap at the property while alerting neighbors to take preventive precautions.
Fort Collins: Also on Aug. 18, a young black bear was seen wandering the campus of Colorado State University as about 6,000 students were moving into dormitories Aug. 18. The bear caused no known conflicts but was safely tranquilized and relocated. The week before on Aug. 13, a parks and wildlife team tranquilized a young bear found in the backyard of a home across the street from Dunn Elementary School in Fort Collins, reported the Fort Collins Coloradoan, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Eagle-Vail: A female black bear swiped at a man leaving the laundry room of an apartment complex Aug. 17 near Eagle-Vail, which is about 100 miles west of Denver, officials said. The man tripped and injured his foot while trying to escape. He was released from a medical facility after being treated for injuries to his arm and foot. CPW officers placed a bear trap in the neighborhood, the agency said.
Colorado Springs: Officials are warning residents to lock their cars after finding a deceased black bear on Aug. 17 inside an unlocked car in Colorado Springs. It entered the car while searching for food and died after likely spending days inside the car, officials said. Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the bear, which weighed about 300 pounds, entered an unlocked vehicle while searching for food, became trapped inside and likely was exposed to the summer heat over several days before it was discovered. As it tried to escape, the bear heavily damaged the vehicle’s interior.
Breckenridge: On Aug. 11, a bear broke into the Grand Timber Lodge, police said. “Luckily only some M&M’s were taken. Breckenridge Officers were able to coax the bear back into the wilderness, and no animals or people were hurt!” the department said in a post on its Facebook page.

Bear opens door in NC. Another checks out Tennessee parking lot

Other recent bear sightings include a report from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission that said an adult female black bear swatted at a resident in north Asheville after entering their home Aug. 18. The bear opened an unlocked door while her three cubs played on the front porch, reported the Asheville Citizen Times, which is part of the USA TODAY Network. The resident was treated and released from a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Last month, a black bear caused a commotion in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on July 18 when it trotted around a parking lot, the Knoxville News Sentinel, part of the USA TODAY Network, reported. In a separate incident, a detective with the Dickson County Sheriff’s Office filmed a black bear in another detective’s yard on July 8 in middle Tennessee.

Bears have been spotted around Pittsburgh this summer and many have been seen in Stowe, Vermont, the Boston Globe reported.

Bear attacks, kills man in New Mexico

In New Mexico, an adult man died from injuries suffered in an Aug. 20 bear attack, the Navajo Police Department said in a post on Facebook. The incident occurred in Crystal, a community within the Navajo Nation near the New Mexico-Arizona border, reported KRQE, a TV station in Albuquerque. Law enforcement killed the bear, police said. The following day on Aug. 21, a bear bit a man who was camping near Red River, New Mexico, according to the state wildlife department.

Drought conditions in the state have resulted in bears foraging for food and that’s led to the highest number of human-bear conflicts since 2014, said Nick Foreman, carnivore and small mammal program manager with New Mexico Department of Wildlife, in a bear update posted Aug. 14 on YouTube.

“This year, we’ve had a historically low snowpack combined with these high temperatures and not a lot of precipitation this year,” he said. “Bears came out of the den, there was really no green grass for these bears to start eating in the spring and that just put as at a deficit. … (Now) these bears are leaving their natural habitat to find (food) anywhere they can find it.”

Tips for bear encounters

With bear sightings and encounters on the rise, here are some tips on how to avoid and handle bear-related situations, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife:

Do not feed or approach bears. This teaches bears to approach homes and people looking for more food. If you get too close, a bear may defend itself.
Secure all trash cans. Also secure recycling and any food kept outdoors, such as pet foods.
Remove bird feeders. Bears will seek them out when they are active.
Clean your grill. Keep it stored securely.
Tell your neighbors. Let them know if if you see bear activity.
Hike, run and cycle in groups. Don’t wear earbuds and make noise periodically so bears can avoid you.
Don’t leave trash or food scraps out when camping.
Keep your dog leashed when camping or don’t bring them. If able to roam, a dog could encounter a bear, which might defend itself.
Cook away from your tent. And do not store food, trash, clothes worn when cooking, or toiletries in your tent.
If you see a black bear, don’t approach it. Get a look, then quietly move away. If a bear sees you, back away slowly. Do not run, it may trigger a chase response. If a bear approaches, hold your ground, wave your arms and yell “Hey Bear” until it leaves.
Carry bear spray and know how to use it. If a bear keeps approaching, use bear spray – it is proven to be the easiest and most effective way to deter a bear that threatens you. It doesn’t work like bug repellent, so never spray your tent, campsite or belongings.
If a black bear makes contact with you, don’t play dead. Fight back aggressively.

Contributing: Jeanine Santucci and Anthony Thompson, USA TODAY, and Miles Blumhardt and Kelly Lyell, USA TODAY Network.

Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at mikegsnider & @mikegsnider.bsky.social & @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.

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