Aug. 27, 2026 – A black bear entered an Estes Park home in the early morning hours, charging and scratching a woman before leaving through a window.

Aug. 21 – A black bear attacked an angler as he walked toward his vehicle southwest of Denver. The man suffered bite wounds on his legs. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) used a dog team to track and euthanize the animal.

Aug. 19 – A black bear in Aspen bit a man as he slept in a city park. The man received treatment for head and facial injuries. CPW found and euthanized the bear.

Aug. 18 – A black bear entered a Steamboat Springs home in the middle of the night. When a woman tried to drive it out, the animal struck her in the face causing injuries. CPW set a trap to try to capture it.

Aug. 17 – A black bear scratched a man's arm after an encounter at an apartment complex near Eagle-Vail. CPW had received earlier reports of a sow and cubs foraging in neighborhood dumpsters and set a trap to try to catch them.

Those five bear attacks happened over less than two weeks in Colorado, with two others documented earlier in the year.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife received 8,672 reports of bear sightings and conflicts from Jan. 1 through Aug. 31., compared to 3,680 through August 2025. At this rate, the state is on track to have the highest number of bear reports since CPW implemented its statewide digital reporting system in 2019.

So, why are there so many more bear sightings and encounters this year? CPW cites several reasons:

• In late summer and fall, black bears enter a natural phase (hyperphagia) when they can spend up to 20 hours a day searching for food as they build the fat reserves needed to survive the winter

• Low snowpack, dry conditions, drought and wildfires reduce the availability of berries, fruits, nuts, plants and grasses

• With natural foods harder to find, bears travel greater distances, including pushing into neighborhoods where garbage, bird seed and pet food offer an easy meal

Another reason may be the size of the black bear population, reportedly ranging from 17,000 to 20,000, which is notably larger than most neighboring states.

"Ballot box biology is stupid," Rick Enstrom, former CPW commissioner posted on X. "Excellent case in point."

Enstrom made this comment in response to a recent media report about the increasing number of bear sightings in Colorado in 2026. More specifically, he is referencing a voter-approved citizen ballot initiative from 34 years earlier, introduced by anti-hunting influences and organizations in 1992, that put an end to bear hunting from March 1 to Sept. 1. Known as Amendment 10, it is recognized by many as Colorado's first ballot box biology measure. By definition, "ballot box biology" happens when wildlife management decisions are made by an often uniformed public on Election Day and taken out of the hands of professional biologists and game managers.

Colorado is one of 21 states that allow citizens to initiate statutory measures, so it is no stranger to ballot box biology at the polls. In 1996, passage of Amendment 14, instigated by animal rights groups, led to a ban on certain trapping methods. In 2020, voters narrowly approved Proposition 114, also backed by animal rights and anti-hunting groups, which triggered the forcible introduction of wolves into Colorado – a messy program with skyrocketing costs and record wolf-livestock kills. In 2024, voters rejected Proposition 127, an animal rights-backed measure to ban the hunting of mountain lions and bobcats.

To help manage its population, Colorado does have a highly regulated fall bear hunt, but it only covers several short seasons with the earliest date of Sept. 2, 2026, and the latest of Nov. 22.Some Coloradans have suggested reinstating a spring bear hunt to reign in the population, but that would require the legislature changing the law or passing another citizen initiative, neither of which would be easy. Passage of a right to hunt and fish amendment would not re-instate the spring season.

Here are some other noteworthy numbers. When Amendment 10 passed in 1992, Colorado's black bear population numbered between 6,000 and 10,000. Today, with black bear hunting banned from March to September, it is two to three times larger. Maybe the former commissioner was on to something there.

About Hunt 2 Conserve 

Hunt 2 Conserve is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Its mission is to advance a legacy of hunting and conservation by educating, activating and developing stewards and defenders of these fundamentally American ideals. For more information, go to hunt2conserve.org.

(Photo credit: Colorado Parks and Wildlife)