COLORADO SPRINGS — A local man caught three bears taking a dip in his pond earlier this week. One of the bears appears to be the momma bear with her two cubs.
The bears were in the Pinecliff neighborhood and Ute Valley Open Space and can be seen on his ring video splashing around as if they were having a spa day.
KOAA News5's Caroline Peters spoke with District Wildlife Manager Corey Adler with Colorado Parks and Wildlife about what you need to know if you encounter a bear.
“Slowly back away with your eyes on the bear. Make sure they see you; you see them. Keep talking to them so they know you’re human. A lot of times they don’t like our human voice because then they know it relates to us and then just slowly back away and go another way and just wait for that bear to move on,” said Adler.
We live in bear country here in the Springs, and it’s not uncommon to see bears getting into the trash or near hiking trails.
KOAA News5's Devan Karp also spoke with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife who warned that bears are getting hungry for the winter.
"Well, we're moving into the fall, and bears are going into what's called hyperphagia. They can be active for 20 hours a day, looking for any type of food sources," says Public Information Officer Joey Livingston.
Livingston says hyperphagia can cause these bears to wander into places they wouldn't normally: backyards, city streets, and residential neighborhoods.
They're eating up to 20,000 calories a day to fatten up for their hibernation in the winter.
If you'd like to learn more about bear safety and how to make sure your home and family are safe, you can visit theParks and Wildlife website.
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