Let he who hasn’t stuffed himself on fermented apples and napped in a tree afterwards offer the first criticism of a bear doing the same thing. On Tuesday in the census-designated place of Highlands Ranch in Douglas County, Colorado, a large brown bear provoked quite the commotion, smashing through a fence and climbing a tree before taking a nap. That reportedly came after some consumption of fermented apples.
***Bear Update** He seems to be sleeping in the tree after eating a large quantity of fermented apples in the neighborhood. @COParksWildlife is advising to keep your distance and call 911 if any aggressive behaviors exhibit. Photo shared by @CBS4Mark (great shot Mark!) pic.twitter.com/qKWwE89ebx
— DC Sheriff (@dcsheriff) October 4, 2022
Bear in Highlands Ranch has climbed further up the tree. These photos really shows how MASSIVE it is. @CBSNewsColorado @COParksWildlife @dcsheriff #wildlife #bear pic.twitter.com/1emenKdm61
— Mark Neitro (@CBS4Mark) October 4, 2022
My best video of the Highlands Ranch bear. When I left the massive bruin was still lounging in the tree. @CBSNewsColorado @CPW_NE @COParksWildlife @dcsheriff #wildlife #bear pic.twitter.com/cOl2aK8TzJ
— Mark Neitro (@CBS4Mark) October 5, 2022
First day back from leave and I’m on Bear Patrol! Didn’t take me long to find one.
Multiple sightings in Front Range neighborhoods today, including this guy in Wildcat Ridge in Douglas County. @dcsheriff waiting for @COParksWildlife to arrive to assist. @KDVR pic.twitter.com/HP1Ts8HXz3
— Evan Kruegel (@EvanKruegel) October 4, 2022
Here’s more on what happened, from Kreugel at Denver Fox affiliate KDVR:
“You know, we get deer and raccoons, but we’ve lived here for 16 years and I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Kris Riedel said.
Riedel turned to her security camera after hearing a loud bang on Tuesday morning.
“This big massive, brown bear came crashing out of our flower bed and across the driveway,” Riedel said.
That bear smashed its way through a fence before ending up in a tree in the Wildcat Ridge neighborhood.
The bear hung out in the tree from the afternoon into the evening. But Douglas County sheriff’s office confirmed Wednesday morning that the bear safely left the tree and moved on.
This is just one of many bear encounters across Colorado recently. The small town of New Castle saw its second bear attack in three months this weekend. At least this bear wasn’t attacking anyone, but rather just looking for a place to sleep off those fermented apples.
[KDVR, CBS Colorado; screenshot from Mark Nietro on Twitter]
