When wildlife officials in Colorado got a call about a bear making itself cozy under the deck of a Durango home, they thought they knew what to expect.
They soon learned they didn’t quite understand the situation, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a series of tweets on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
“What we didn’t expect to find was one of the largest male bears we have ever seen in town,” the agency’s tweet said.
Around this time of year, bears are typically looking for a place to hole up for the winter, the agency said.
“Under the deck of a home in a residential Durango neighborhood is not a suitable den location,” the agency tweeted.
To move the bear, believed to be about 10 years old and “weigh as much as 400 pounds,” and then prepare it for relocation, it called for a team of five and a tranquilizer dart, the agency said.
A video posted by the agency shows a group of four officers carefully lugging the bear away from the home, moving debris along the way.
Soon after, the bear had a health exam and “was equipped with a microchip and ear tags,” the agency said.
“The bear was given a reversal drug to counteract effects of the tranquilizer,” according to CPW.
The bear hitched a 60-mile ride with the agency and was relocated to a “suitable habitat with good food to eat and where it is unlikely to encounter hunters this season,” CPW said.
This incident serves as a reminder of the “importance of removing attractants around your home,” the wildlife agency said.
“Bears are looking to bulk up these final weeks before denning for winter,” the agency said.
Some precautions, according to CPW, include picking up fallen fruit, securing trash and removing bird feeders.
“You really don’t want a bear of this size in your yard,” the agency said.
Durango is about 340 miles southwest of Denver.
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