Thanksgiving and Day After Office Closures -
Colorado Parks and Wildlife offices, including park visitor centers, will be closed on Thursday, November 28, and Friday, November 29. No park pass is required to enter any state park on Friday November 29th for Fresh Air Friday.
Rachael Gonzales
New Castle, Colo. - Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers continue searching for a bear that attacked a man late Saturday night at his home in New Castle.
Around 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, the victim said he heard a noise in his backyard and went to investigate. While outside, the victim startled a bear in his backyard, immediately knocking him down to the ground. During the attack, the victim used one arm to protect his face while grabbing his gun with the other free hand, firing three shots and scaring the bear away.
The victim was taken to the hospital by a family member with minor injuries to his hand, arm, and chest.
Around 1 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2, Colorado Parks and Wildlife was notified by staff at a local hospital that a patient was receiving treatment for injuries after being attacked by a bear.
Wildlife officers arrived on scene just after 2 a.m. and began their search for the bear. Although the victim fired three shots, he was unaware if any hit and injured the bear.
Heavy rain made it difficult for wildlife officers to locate a possible blood trail and track the bear. In addition to CPW wildlife officers, Garfield County Sheriff’s Office deputies assisted using a drone with infrared sensors to search for the bear.
CPW wildlife officers remained in the area and continued searching for the bear throughout the day. As of Sunday night, search efforts were unsuccessful.
The victim was released from the hospital early Sunday morning and is back at home recovering. In addition to injuries to his hand and arm, the victim also received bruising on his chest from the bear holding him down on the ground.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers will return Monday to continue search efforts. CPW is asking the New Castle community to contact Colorado State Patrol if they see an injured or dead bear.
“This is an unfortunate reminder that we need to be vigilant and ‘bear aware’ at all times,” said Area Wildlife Manager Kirk Oldham. “We continue to see a lot of bear activity during the overnight hours as bears prepare for hibernation. Easy access to food sources, such as trash and fruit from trees that have fallen to the ground, will attract bears. Simple steps like picking up fruit and removing any attractants around your home are important in preventing incidents like this.”
The victim stated he had seen a bear in his yard the past two nights.
It is important that bears do not become comfortable around your house, said Oldham. If you see one, yell at it, throw things at it, and make noise to scare it off.
This is the second bear attack in New Castle this year.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is an enterprise agency, relying primarily on license sales, state parks fees and registration fees to support its operations, including: 43 state parks and more than 350 wildlife areas covering approximately 900,000 acres, management of fishing and hunting, wildlife watching, camping, motorized and non-motorized trails, boating and outdoor education. CPW's work contributes approximately $6 billion in total economic impact annually throughout Colorado.
