If you’re curious how drought impacts wildlife, look no further than an example provided by Colorado Parks and Wildlife on July 23. According to the agency, wildlife officers in Durango caught a bear in a trap last week, but the story didn’t stop there.

The large male bear caught in the trap didn’t have an ear tag – it had been ripped out during a fight with another bear – but it did have a PIT tag that was discovered upon scanning. A PIT tag – about the size of a grain of rice – includes a tiny microchip, which gets inserted under an animal’s skin as a sort of permanent identification, similar to when a pet gets ‘chipped.’

After wildlife officials accessed the data from the PIT tag, it was realized that the bear hadn’t been encountered since 2012 – quite a long time for a bear that was suddenly involved in a conflict this year. Remember, a ‘conflict’ doesn’t necessarily mean an attack, but can also mean a bear that damages property or accesses a human food source, like unsecured trash.

Estimated to be 20 years old, the bear was said to be showing its age, its skin covered in many scars from multiple fights with other bears over the years – one of which likely ripped out its ear tag.

While this bear spent many years living a wild life, the reason it was involved in a conflict this year is concerning and provides some insight into why bears seem so active around Colorado as of late.

Wildlife officials said that a contributing factor in the conflict was how the drought along with a late freeze means a horrible food year for bears. Instead of being able to easily get what they need in the backcountry, hungry and desperate bears seem to be turning to civilized areas at a higher rate. Thus after 14 years of not being encountered by wildlife officials, this bear finally reared its head.

The bear that was trapped was ultimately released deep into national forest land, with officials hoping it will spend the rest of its days far from humans.

This is just one example of how the ongoing drought may be pushing wildlife into civilized areas more frequently, adding to a number of notable bear-related stories in recent days and weeks including bears that broke into a Roxborough home, a bear that attacked someone in Golden, another attack at a Boulder County reservoir, a bear that was struck and killed by a vehicle on the Front Range, and a bear that was shot by someone in Castle Rock. The early data supports an increased presence of bears, too, with the Denver Gazette reporting that Douglas County bear reports are up 155 percent year-to-date.

For Coloradans, the takeaway is simple. Be even more cautious about making sure you’re being ‘bear smart’ as you go about your daily lives. Ensure that possible bear attractants aren’t accessible around your house nor the campsite and haze bears away when they’re lurking in civilized areas. Preventing bear conflicts doesn’t just protect human life, but the life of bears, as well.

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