Strange Bear Sightings in Denver Suburb Send Cherry Creek Schools Inside as Colorado Records More Than 6,000 Encounters This Year

DENVER, CO — An unusual run of bear sightings has made the opening weeks of school feel anything but routine in the Cherry Creek School District. District officials say they have already sent eight notifications to multiple campuses after bears were spotted nearby.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife says there have been more than 6,000 bear sightings across the state so far this year, nearly twice last year’s total. School officials and wildlife experts say the surge is tied to drought and wildfires that have reduced food available to bears.

Why Bears Are Showing Up More Often

Wildlife managers say the animals are being pushed closer to neighborhoods, schools and other suburban areas while searching for food. A recent bear that wandered into Denver’s Platt Park neighborhood on Aug. 23 was a 1.5-year-old, 100-pound male black bear that officials later moved to a safer habitat.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesperson Kara Van Hoose said a lack of snowpack last winter helped create a scarcity of resources for bears in the wild. That, combined with dry conditions and wildfire impacts, has left more bears roaming in record numbers, she said, including into urban areas where people do not usually expect to see them.

How Cherry Creek Schools Respond

The district says safety is the first priority whenever a bear is reported near a school. Lauren Snell, a spokesperson for Cherry Creek schools, said staff keep students and employees inside buildings and wait for the all-clear from authorities before resuming normal activity.

On Aug. 17, notifications went out for Cherry Creek High School, Belleview Elementary, High Plains Elementary, Cottonwood Creek Elementary and Walnut Hills Elementary. Walnut Hills later had a delayed dismissal on Aug. 21, and Greenwood Elementary also received a notice on Aug. 25. Snell said the activity is “not normal,” and added that last year there were no bear sightings near any of the district’s 66 schools.

A First Day Students Won’t Forget

For Cherry Creek High School junior IV Collier, the bear alert on the first day of classes was memorable for all the wrong reasons and also a little humorous. Collier said students went on a secure perimeter, stayed inside and still managed to get schoolwork done while the bear situation unfolded outside.

Collier said they had never seen anything like it in three years at the school, though the campus has dealt with possums and skunks before. The student is also part of a class working on a story about why bears are appearing more often, and hopes the changes in the wild can help create a healthier environment for them in the future. Local officials have advised people to avoid approaching bears, back away slowly if needed and never run or climb a tree.

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