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Wildlife Officers Say Bear Attack On 2 Campers Should Never Have Happened

DURANGO, Colo. (CBS4) - Colorado Parks and Wildlife managers are hunting down a bear they say attacked two campers in southwestern Colorado over the weekend.

Matt Robbins, spokesman with the agency, said both victims were taken to a local hospital for treatment following the attack. CBS4 reached out the hospital but they did not have an update on the condition of either camper.

Matt Robbins
CBS4's Matt Kroschel talks with Matt Robbins with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (credit: CBS)

The attack happened in a remote part of Durango, a section of the city where people are known to camp illegally.

"So the bear at 2 a.m. came and was sniffing and smelling and detected food, apparently," Robbins said. "When making an attempt to eat it (the bear) also came into conflict with the human."

Robbins said the campers were able to wake up neighbors who called police.

"These kinds of incidents with bears are very infrequent," Robbins said. "It's really important to understand that bears don't want to have conflicts with humans."

He said if the bear is located, it will be put down.

BEAR ATTACK MAP
(credit: CBS)

Colorado Parks and Wildlife recommended people take steps to deter bears from interest.

"Make sure to put their garbage out only on the morning of pickup, and if they've got bear-proof trash cans, please use them, and don't feed your pets outside. It's kind of the typical bear-aware type things. Bears like natural food, but if there is another food available, they'll try to find it."

Matt Kroschel covers news throughout Colorado working from the CBS4 Mountain Newsroom. Send story ideas to mrkroschel@cbs.com and connect with him on Twitter @Matt_Kroschel.

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