A mother black bear and her two cubs seen near hiking trails and in a home caused the closures of some trails Wednesday in Boulder.
The trails closed are McClintock, Royal Arch, Enchanted Mesa and Woodsy Quarry. Sections of Mesa Trail also are closed.
Melvyn Shapiro, 65, woke up early Wednesday morning to sounds of growling and dishes being smashed.
Shapiro, who lives alone, heard bears in his kitchen at his home, 125 Bellevue Drive, about 4 a.m.
He called 911 and left through a back door to escape the uninvited guests. But as he got outside, he found himself face-to- face with the protective mother bear.
“I knew it was over,” Shapiro said. “It got into attack mode – like a sumo wrestler – and started to charge toward me.”
He said the bear’s charge knocked him down. The bear and her cubs were gone by the time he got up and returned inside.
The bears absconded with some bananas and left Shapiro with some broken dishes.
Shapiro said the bears probably came through a screen door he had left open the night before. Shapiro went to a hospital for shoulder pain.
An adult bear and cubs were spotted near some of the hiking trails, though it could not be determined whether they were the same animals that entered Shapiro’s home.
Delani Wheeler, spokeswoman for Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks Department, said the department closed the trails for the safety of people and bears.
Wheeler said the trails will remain closed until the issue is resolved. She said the department and the Department of Wildlife will try to relocate the animals.
The city is collaborating with the DOW to establish closures and monitor wildlife activity in the area.
Signs will be posted along closed trails, and Wheeler said hikers can be cited if they ignore them.
In a statement, Open Space said closures are typically for a short period to allow bears an “escape route” and to avoid bear-human encounters.
“Now is a good time to encourage people not to invite bears in the area,” Wheeler said.
She said bears are being tempted by food left out in trash cans and by fruit on trees.
Area residents can expect more sightings because bear activity is likely to increase as fall approaches and bears begin to prepare for hibernation.
Staff writer Christopher Ortiz can be reached at 303-820-1201 or cortiz@denverpost.com.
