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The Rocky Mountain Collegian

The Student News Site of Colorado State University

The Rocky Mountain Collegian

The Student News Site of Colorado State University

The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Bear makes it way onto CSU’s Oval

Officers+were+able+to+safely+lower+the+200lb+bear+into+rubber+innertubes

Collegian | Reuel Indurkar

Officers lower a nearly 200-pound bear from a tree in rubber inner tubes Sept. 16. The operation took around three hours. “This was a very successful operation,” Assistant Area Wildlife Manager Brandon Muller said. “Nobody got hurt; the bear didn’t get hurt. Everybody is walking away with everything attached, same with the bear, and we’re going to get him out to a good spot.”

Piper Russell, News Editor

On Sept. 16 the Colorado State University Police Department and Colorado Parks and Wildlife team responded to reports of a bear in a tree on the north end of The Oval near Ammons Hall.

Brandon Muller, an assistant area wildlife manager for CPW, said they started receiving calls about the bear in Old Town throughout the night, and then it made its way to CSU’s campus around 6:30-7:30 a.m., where it climbed up a tree. The bear was safely tranquilized, removed from the tree and relocated.

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District Wildlife Manager Shane Craig carries a tranquilizer gun to a treed Black Bear on the Colorado State University Oval
District Wildlife Manager Shane Craig carries a tranquilizer gun to a treed black bear on the Colorado State University Oval Sept. 16. “The first time [the bear was tranquilized] we got a good one.” Muller said. “And then the second one we were unsure, then we hand injected him one time just to make sure.” (Collegian | Garrett Mogel)
Muller said the bear was less than 200 pounds and was probably around 2 years old if male and 4 or 5 if female. An article from Colorado State University’s SOURCE said the bear was female.

Muller said although CPW looked for opportunities to let the bear leave naturally, they chose to tranquilize and relocate it for the safety of the bear itself and the people near the area.

Additionally, Muller said CSUPD was first on the scene and coordinated with CPW by setting up a perimeter to keep people away and keep the bear calm.

“CSUPD was instrumental (in) … keeping everybody away from the bear; helping us keep him in the tree; keeping him calm; keeping everybody safe, including the bear safe, and everybody at a safe distance,” Muller said.

Muller said the bear’s presence was “not surprising,” and “bears are in their hyperphagia; they’re trying to eat up to 20,000 calories a day to try to put on that fat to make it through the winter, when they go into their hibernation.”

Reach Piper Russell at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @PiperRussell10.

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About the Contributors
Photo of Piper Russell
Piper Russell, News Editor

Piper Russell is one of The Collegian’s news editors this year and is thrilled to be working in the role. She started as a news reporter her sophomore...

Photo of Garrett Mogel
Garrett Mogel, Photo Director

Garrett Mogel is a third-year journalism student with a second field in philosophy. He is one of two photo directors for the 2023-24 school year. 

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