Bear Pounces On Sleeping Campers

Above, a bear relaxing at Yellowstone Bear World in Idaho. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

There's a reason why some campgrounds don't allow soft-sided RVs (such as tent trailers and hybrids) and tents. Bear activity is why.

RV Travel has a story of a recent bear encounter while some folks were sound asleep in their tent.

The story begins with:

Okay, here’s a reminder of why most of the readers of this newsletter prefer sleeping in an RV over sleeping in a tent. Thankfully, there’s a happy ending to this bear-human encounter. Here is what happened. 

A couple sleeping in a tent in an RV park southwest of Colorado Springs was startled early Monday when a small bear pounced on their tent. Though neither of the people inside was injured in the incident, the incident was classified by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) as an attack because the bear contacted a human. A small brown-colored bear has been seen wandering the campground in recent weeks and it is suspected in this incident. 

If caught, CPW does not plan to euthanize the bear because it was not aggressive toward the people. Also, it would be impossible to positively identify the bear without hair or tissue samples for comparisons. So wildlife officers intend to haze or release the bear in a more remote region.  

The incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. as the couple was staying at the Golden Eagle Campground off Colorado Highway 115, about five miles southwest of the city.

To read more, go here.