Bear Sighting

**Update** There have been more bear sightings this year, 2024. The picture has been updated to show an actual sighting – courtesy of Dave & Karen Sherrets, Lot 1

****Original News Post on August 15, 2023
There has been at least one full-size brown bear roaming around LV Ranch this summer. It pulled down a bird-feeder earlier in the year. Last Thursday, it walked up onto the porch of a cabin just off of Columbine Loop during the daylight hours. I realize that bears can appear to be scary animals. On Monday, I called and discussed the situation with a Colorado Springs representative with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Division (CPW).

CPW’s perspective is that LV Ranch is situated in an area where it’s common for bears to sometimes be roaming around and looking for food. When a bear is not behaving in a particularly aggressive or dangerous manner toward people, CPW does not take any action beyond giving some helpful advice.

CPW’s primary advice is to keep all garbage removed or secure (so a bear can’t smell and/or get to it). Also, they advised against having bird-feeders, as they will almost certainly attract the attention of the bears.

CPW also suggested that we ask everyone spending time in our area to obtain a can of aerosol bear repellant (it will spray many feet away from the user). If a bear seems to be getting too close to your living area, spray the bear in the face. The repellant spray won’t permanently injure the bear, but doing so will likely cause the bear to think twice before coming back to that same place.

It’s also best to remain a reasonable distance away from all wildlife, whenever possible, so as to avoid any confrontation situation.

If you have any additional experiences with our LV Ranch wildlife that you’d like the Ranch Board to be aware of, please feel free to email it to me directly at “simpson.james.86@gmail.com”.

Thank you, and please enjoy the remainder of the summer?

Jim Simpson – LV Ranch Vice-President and Committee Chair of Lakes, Trees and Wildlife