Grizzlies in the San Juan Mountains?
November 12th, 2008
Discussions persist weather grizzly bears still roam the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
Black bears call the San Juans home, but not sure if any grizzlies called Colorado home.
It turns out that the last known Colorado grizzly bear was killed in 1979 by a hunter.
The kill turned out to be quite a surprise for both the hunter and wildlife officials, as they had declared the grizzly extinct back in 1952!
In 1979-1980 wildlife officials launched an "extensive live-trapping" operation in hopes of discovering any remaining Colorado grizzlies. The investigation failed and the bear remains "extinct."
Rumors persist that a handful of grizzly bears continue to call the San Juan Mountains home and every few years a "ghost" grizzly sighting will be reported. Perhaps somewhere deep in the Weminuche wonders the last of the Colorado grizzlies?
