There's a bear loose in Aurora.
While Arapahoe Road and E-470 may seem a far way from ursine home, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said it's not terribly unusual to see a bear that far east of I-25.
"They'll go through the green spaces in between towns, and they'll just follow their noses," CPW public information officer Jason Clay said. "If they start to get into the towns and they're going through these green belts, and they're finding food, then those visits will be prolonged."
The bear was spotted Tuesday morning and tracked near Arapahoe Road and E-470. It then found its way into a marsh, where wildlife officials and the Aurora Police Department lost sighting of the bear.
Oftentimes, wildlife officers will give the bear a chance to "work its way out of town." But in this case, when the bear is spotted again, they'll try to relocate it, Clay said.
If the bear is in a safe place, like a tree or an area far away from a road, the bear will be tranquilized and moved to more suitable bear habitat in the mountains.
Clay cautioned Aurora residents to stay inside and keep pets inside, too. He said to lock up trash cans, garages and to remove any attractants from yards or places a bear can access.
"If you do see a bear, you never want to run from the bear, you want to stand tall, face it, talk to that bear," Clay said. "More than likely that bear will identify what you are and go on its way."
Be safe out there, bear.
