A bear was euthanized early Wednesday, a few hours after it pounced on a tent at the Aspen Acres Campground northwest of Rye, bruising and severely traumatizing a woman who had gone inside the shelter to eat dinner because it was raining.
The 350-pound bear did not bite or claw the woman and it moved away when the woman’s friend approached the tent, but the bruin was a repeat offender, according to a news release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The woman, whose name has not been released, was checked by emergency medical technicians, who determined she was not seriously injured, CPW spokesman Bill Vogrin said in the news release.
When the bear circled back to the campsite later that same night wildlife officers treed the animal and then killed it, Vogrin wrote.
The bear had first entered the campground Monday night when it broke into an unoccupied car to get cake and other foods. On Tuesday, wildlife officers set a trap in the campground to capture the bear. The officers put up signs to warn campers about bears.
“The incident is an important reminder of the need to observe Bear Aware rules, especially when camping in bear country,” Vogrin wrote. “Never keep food in a tent or car or eat in a tent. Store food and anything with an odor, including toiletries and clothes you cook in, in a bear-resistant container or suspended from a tree at least 10 feet above ground.”
