Problem bear killed in Crested Butte last week

Bruin weighed close to 500 pounds

One of the problem bears that had been roaming Crested Butte this summer was shot and killed last week by local officers, the first time a bear was killed in town by local law enforcement. Most bears are trapped and relocated or euthanized.

The evening started Tuesday, September 6 about 9:45 p.m. when marshals responded to a report of a bear in a residence on the 100 block of Sopris Avenue. A man inside the home at the time told the officers that the bear showed absolutely no fear of the people inside.
“He was not scared of me in the least,” the man told officers, according to Chief Marshal Tom Martin.
The bear was chased out of the house and into the woods south of town. Martin said three hours later the same bear was spotted inside a vehicle on the east side of town near the Community School. Officers again chased the bear and it climbed the hill below Highway 135 near the soccer field. Officers fired a shot with a shotgun toward the bear and the bruin was injured. Officers tracked the bear for an hour toward Trapper’s Crossing but couldn’t locate him.
The next morning, Martin said officers called the Colorado Division of Wildlife and their officers made arrangements for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Hotchkiss to bring in tracking dogs to Crested Butte. They arrived Wednesday afternoon about 1:15 p.m. and immediately picked up the scent of the injured bear. The bear was found 15 minutes later in the woods above the Rural Electric Association building at the south end of town. He was dead.
“This was one of the three bears we had been targeting since July,” said Martin. “He had been spotted in vehicles and houses around town and that is a dangerous situation.”
The DOW hauled the body away and reported that he weighed close to 500 pounds.
“Given a decrease in bear activity, we think this was one of the most disruptive bears from the summer,” said Martin. “But it is still bear time and we are still getting reports of bears getting into trash around town. Everyone still needs to be aware of the bears in town and take appropriate precautions.”