With unseasonably warm temperatures in early March in Steamboat Springs, at least five different yearling or adult male black bears have woken up from hibernation.

“The past several years every year our bear activity is starting earlier and earlier,” said Christy Bubenheim, chief educator with Keep Bears Wild Steamboat Springs, who has been tracking local bear reports for 17 years.

Bubenheim said the first reported bear sighting this year was on March 2 and in 2024 on March 5.

---

---

That means community members need to become vigilant again about pushing down trash in containers and making sure bear-resistant latches are engaged, Bubenheim said. On a morning drive-through this week on trash day near downtown Steamboat, Bubenheim said the majority of trash containers were overfilled or unlatched.

Since bears are smart and can learn that dumping over some of the bear-resistant trash containers will open the lock mechanism, bear-resistant trash cans not stored inside until trash pickup can be secured tightly to a sturdy pole or fence, the educator advised.

---

---

Other top tips to prevent human-bear conflicts include not storing food in vehicles, locking vehicles, cleaning garbage cans with ammonia, keeping first-floor windows and doors shut, and not allowing bears to become comfortable around humans by making lots of loud noises or honking horns.

Citizens can learn more and ask questions about how best to co-exist with bears during a “Lock it up, put it away and help to keep bear wild” free, educational presentation scheduled for 6 p.m. April 16 at Steamboat Basecamp at 1901 Curve Plaza.

After she witnessed a “very upsetting” situation where someone apparently left a McDonald’s chicken sandwich for a bear who was waking up, Bubenheim reiterated on the Keep Bears Wild Facebook page, “Never approach or offer them food.”

“When bears are just emerging from the den, they don’t have a lot of energy and are just working on getting their ‘systems’ up and going again,” Bubenheim said, referring to a video of a 2-year-old male bear rolling on his back and scratching his belly on March 8 on the south end of Steamboat. “This fella seems to be content soaking up the sun. If you spot one of these guys or gals that are awake already, give them space.”

David Rehak Suma, Colorado Parks and Wildlife district wildlife manager, reiterated that residents and visitors need to put away any possible bear attractants such as bird feeders on their properties and make sure “people give these animals the respect they deserve.”

“We need to make sure we are not doing anything to subvert their natural behaviors,” Suma said.

Bears naturally hibernate in the winter when food sources are not available, so if bears wake up and find unsecured human food sources, that disrupts their natural patterns. If bears wake up early and do not find a human food reward, they typically go back in their den, Bubenheim said.

“When food is available, they don’t have a reason to hibernate,” she said.

In addition, bears coming out of hibernation have a natural fecal plug that needs to dislodged by the bears foraging for several week on natural, fibrous materials such as grasses and leaves, she explained.

A late February media release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife noted the state in 2024 experienced varying levels of human-bear conflicts, with some areas seeing increases while others saw declines, with 5,022 reports of sightings or conflicts statewide. Trash continues to be the number one source of conflicts in Colorado between humans and bears.

However, Routt County was an area of declining human-bear conflicts, which Bubenheim credits to city trash ordinances requiring bear-resistant waste containers and increased education. This also means the number of euthanized and relocated bears dropped within Steamboat last season. In 2024, one old sow who swiped at a walker was euthanized and her two young relocated, and two other sick or injured bears were euthanized, Bubenheim noted.

“I hope we are heading in the right direction to do right by our bears and doing better with human-bear conflict,” Bubenheim said.

In 2024 in Routt County, the Steamboat office of Parks and Wildlife received 142 calls regarding bear activity ranging from three calls in March to one call in December for a bear denning under an unprotected deck. The highest monthly calls in 2024 occurred in June at 41 when bears were active but natural foods of berries and acorns were not yet plentiful, Bubenheim said.

Bubenheim noted the current season for bear activity in Steamboat has lengthened and runs from early March to mid-December due to human food attractants and weather pattern changes. In past years, the typical bear season was shorter from the end of April until Thanksgiving.

The number of bears already awake in town indicates “it’s going to make for a long season of educating and getting the word out,” Bubenheim said.

Any group that would like to request a Keep Bears Wild educational presentation can contact Bearawaresbt@gmail.com.