The mother bear found dead in Castle Pines this week was killed by a resident who had concerns about the bear trying to enter their home, a lawful reason for using lethal force, Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced in a news release Sunday.
Wildlife officers are still looking into the incident.
Another Castle Pines resident found the bear dead Thursday at the base of a tree , with two of her cubs waiting in the branches above her.
State law allows people to use lethal force against a bear if they feel threatened by the animal. Any killing in that situation must be reported to authorities within five days. The bear in Castle Pines was killed about 1 a.m. on Thursday, and the resident reported the death on Friday evening, officials said.
“This is an unfortunate occurrence, and you never want to hear of a sow getting killed and cubs being orphaned,” CPW Northeast Region Manager Mark Leslie said in a statement. “Review of the events in this case did not reveal any statutory violation with regards to the killing of the sow.”
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