When wildlife officials in Colorado got a call about a bear taking up residence under the deck of a Durango home, they thought they knew what to expect.
They soon learned they didn’t quite understand the situation, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a series of tweets on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
“What we didn’t expect to find was one of the biggest male bears we’ve ever seen in town,“, the agency’s Twitter account says.
Around this time of year, bears are usually looking for a place to hide for the winter, the agency said.
“Under the deck of a home in a residential area of Durango is not a suitable place for a den,” the agency tweeted.
It took a five-person team and a tranquilizer to move the bear, which is believed to be about 10 years old and “weighs about 400 pounds,” and then prepare it for relocation, the agency said.
Video published by the agency shows a group of four officers carefully pulling the bear from the housemoving trash along the road.
Shortly after, the bear was examined and “was fitted with a microchip and ear tags,” the agency said.
“The bear was given a reversal drug to counteract the effects of the tranquilizer,” CPW reported.
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The bear traveled 60 miles with the agency and was relocated to “suitable habitat with good food and where it is unlikely to encounter hunters this season,” CPW said.
The incident serves as a reminder of “the importance of removing attractants around your home,” the wildlife agency said.
“Bears are trying to stock up these last weeks before hibernating for the winter,” the agency said.
Some precautions, according to CPW, include picking up fallen fruit, securing litter and removing bird feeders.
“You really don’t need a bear that size in your yard,” the agency said.
Durango is about 340 miles southwest of Denver.