Bear breaks into Pitkin post office and is put down as a result

Two-strike rule comes into play—help them out by being bear-aware

By Mark Reaman

A wild black bear disrupted the mail in Pitkin last week and paid with his life. The bear broke into the town’s post office and spent the night causing havoc in the building before being tranquilized and eventually euthanized. Pitkin is a small town with fewer than 75 residents located about 15 miles from Parlin on Highway 135 just east of Gunnison.

According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife public information officer Joe Lewandowski, the bear entered the post office in the middle of the night on Thursday, May 17. “Post offices are always open. The door had a lever handle, which the bear easily pushed down. But the door only opened inward, so once in, the bear couldn’t get out,” he explained. “A postal worker arrived the next morning and tried to push the door open but it was blocked by debris from the bear rooting around in the post office. It knocked over displays, shelves and pulled some molding from around a window. [The employee] was able to look inside and saw the bear.”

Lewandowski said the employee called Parks and Wildlife and officers responded immediately. The bear was tranquilized inside the post office and then was taken away and euthanized.

“The bear had ear tags, which indicated it had gotten into trouble before,” said Lewandowski. “Records showed the bear had a ‘food source conflict’ in Buena Vista in May 2017. The bear was relocated to Custer County, but it eventually found its way to Pitkin.

“By state regulations, if a bear is tagged once, it will be euthanized after a second time showing aggressive behavior,” Lewandowski continued. “This bear was comfortable checking buildings. Human safety is the top concern with wildlife conflicts.”

The Pitkin bear was a male and probably weighed about 400 pounds. Lewandowski said officers talked to people afterward and learned that the bear had been seen getting into garbage around Pitkin and Ohio City during the past few weeks.

“Our Gunnison office is already getting calls about bears being spotted on the north side of Gunnison. So bear activity is starting to show up earlier than usual. We usually don’t start hearing reports until late June,” Lewandowski concluded. “Remember to start paying attention and be bear-aware. Do things like take down the bird feeders, secure your garbage and don’t leave food in you car.”