A 300-pound black bear in Durango, Colorado, was euthanised on 9 September after wildlife officers found it moaning in a residential yard, bloated and unable to move. A field necropsy told the story: its digestive tract was blocked with whole plastic trash bags — drawstrings intact — and non-flushable cleaning wipes. Officer John Livingston of Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) described pulling the garbage out of the stomach moments after tranquilising the animal. He called it rough stuff. That's putting it mildly.

The incident isn't isolated. Colorado is having its worst year on record for human-bear conflict, with more than 8,000 bear reports logged statewide. CPW has euthanised 294 bears so far this year, up from 98 in all of 2025. Relocations are running at 3.5 times the five-year average, and staff have been pulling 18- to 20-hour shifts since June.

Two things pushed bears into towns early this season: drought driven by record-low snowpack, and a late spring freeze in May that wiped out natural food sources across the southwest of the state. Hungry bears came down looking for calories and found them in bins, bird feeders, pet food bowls and unlocked cars. Once they learn that neighbourhoods mean easy food, they stop foraging naturally — and some never return to it. In extreme cases, bears that feed on human food year-round don't den at all, since it's food scarcity, not cold, that triggers hibernation.

For travellers heading to Colorado's mountain towns, this is worth taking seriously. Whether you're renting a cabin near Durango, camping in the San Juans or staying in a ski town condo, your habits genuinely affect whether local bears survive the year. Use bear-resistant bins where provided, keep them clean and latched (some towns fine $100 for a first offence, $200 after that), lock car and house windows at night, and never leave food or scented items in vehicles.

CPW also encourages people to haze bears that wander close — yell, bang pots, sound a car alarm. The message bears need is that humans and homes are bad news. Filming a bear from your porch might make a good clip, but habituating it to people can sign its death warrant.

Bears are a huge part of what makes a Colorado mountain holiday special, and this record year is exactly when visitor behaviour counts most. Keep your campsite and rental spotless, report bold bears rather than tolerating them, and treat every bin as a bear's life or death — because sometimes it is.