Brief by Allen Best
Wildlife – February 2006 – Colorado Central Magazine
Three bears were roaming Aspen in early January, and wildlife biologists told The Aspen Times bears occasionally come out of hibernation during winter.
One roamed in Silverthorne last year, and avalanche blasting at Steamboat has occasionally flushed groggy bears from the three dens found at the ski area. Wildlife officials do not suspect warmer temperatures or that hunger aroused the bears in Aspen.
More likely, the bears didn’t find a good den early enough and hunkered down for winter under a tree or shrub that may have been too close to a road.
The bears were expected to return to hibernation within a few days.
