Mother bear killed after charging 2 boys in Colorado; tranquilized cub also dies

Colorado wildlife authorities said that a mother bear and her cub were killed after she charged two young boys in Colorado Springs. 

On Oct. 4, Colorado Parks and Wildlife responded to a call about an aggressive sow that charged at two boys, ages 12 and 13,  causing one of them to run into a tree branch, injuring him, the agency said in a news release. 

Officers from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Colorado Springs Police Department began a search for the 150-pound sow and her two cubs, and quickly located the bear, according to authorities. "The bear was aggressive toward the officer, as it had threatened the boys, and the CPW officer euthanized the bear," authorities said. 

Officers then searched for the two 50-pound cubs, who were old enough to survive on their own, to capture and release them in a more suitable bear habitat, according to authorities. 

Officers placed a trap above the spot where the bears were first encountered and used a drone to locate them through their heat signatures, authorities said. 

The cubs were finally located after an hourslong search in the dark and officers scared them up a tree to tranquilize them, darting the cubs and causing them to fall from the tree, according to authorities. 

"The officers then carried them out of the brush and drove them to the CPW Southeast Region office where they were tagged for release and given a drug to reverse the tranquilizer," authorities said. 

Tragically, one cub did not wake up, according to authorities. The surviving cub was released in a remote mountain location. 

"This was an unfortunate situation where a sow had become dangerously aggressive toward people instead of being scared of humans," Colorado Parks and Wildlife manager for the Pikes Peak area Tim Kroening said in a statement. "There was no choice but to put it down after it repeatedly charged people."

"And the death of the cub was a sad reminder of why CPW is reluctant to tranquilize wildlife," he added. "There are many risks involved when tranquilizing wildlife."