Colorado Euthanizes 50-60 Pound Bear After 6th Reported Attack of 2026

Q: Could a simple locked trash can have prevented the terrifying multi-minute mauling that nearly claimed a Colorado fisherman's life?

Probably not in this case. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has been clear that unsecured trash and other human food sources are a major reason bear conflicts are surging this year. More than half of reported bear incidents in Colorado are tied to trash, and officials say locking garbage, birdseed, pet food and grills can prevent many bears from becoming food-conditioned and bold around people. In that broader sense, a locked trash can can absolutely prevent some dangerous encounters. But the fisherman’s attack does not appear to fit that pattern directly. CPW said he was in a remote river canyon, walking back to the North Fork trail parking lot after fishing, and was not carrying fish. The bear was a 50- to 60-pound subadult female, with no cubs found nearby. There is no public evidence that an unsecured trash can at that trailhead or nearby caused this specific attack. What likely mattered more was the wider backdrop: Colorado is having a record bear year, driven by drought, low snowpack and wildfire damage that have reduced berries, nuts and other natural foods. Bears are also entering hyperphagia, when they may forage up to 20 hours a day and act more aggressively in search of calories. A locked trash can is still part of the answer because it can stop bears from learning that people and parking areas mean food. But for this mauling, the more accurate answer is that no single trash can can be credited with preventing it based on the facts released so far.

3 articles · Updated · KKTV · Aug 22

A man in his 60s was hospitalized with leg injuries after a subadult sow attacked him for several minutes Friday near the North Fork trail parking lot in Jefferson County.
Witnesses said the bear knocked the angler to the ground and bit his legs as he walked back from fishing; friends eventually scared it off, and he was not carrying fish.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife found the 50-60 pound bear with a dog team Saturday morning and euthanized it under agency policy; officers found no cubs nearby and saw no signs it was nursing.
The attack was Colorado's sixth reported bear attack this year, days after CPW warned 2026 sightings and conflicts were on pace to top prior years.
CPW logged 6,129 bear reports from Jan. 1 to Aug. 13 versus 3,115 a year earlier, blaming drought, low snowpack and wildfire damage that have reduced natural food and made bears bolder.