Last week, a Durango woman was attacked by a bear while walking her dogs and over the weekend, officials from Colorado Parks and Wildlife found her remains inside the bears' stomachs.

According to 9 News, the woman went walking with her dogs on Friday evening but never returned home, her boyfriend came home to find only the dogs and later found her body nearby off of a road.

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CPW officers, and a dog team from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, located a female black bear with two yearlings nearby where the woman's body was found. The bears were euthanized and taken to the Wildlife Health Lab in Fort Collins for an autopsy.

No human remains were found in the stomach of a second yearling euthanized with the other.

All three bears seemed to be in good body condition, at least for coming out of hibernation season with proper fat stores appropriate for the season (black bears typically lose between 20-27 percent of their body fat during hibernation), said CPW.

Bear attacks are VERY rare in Colorado and deaths are even more rare with this being the first since August of 2009.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife have provided this information about the previous fatal bear attacks in Colorado, the last three...

  • Aug. 7, 2009: A bear or bears killed and partially ate a 74-year-old woman at her home in Ouray. Two male bears were shot and killed, one of which had human remains in its digestive system. CPW determined the victim illegally fed bears through a fence in her yard.
  • Aug. 10, 1993: A male bear broke into a camper 20 miles north of Cotopaxi and killed a 24-year-old Buena Vista man. In trying to stop the attack, the victim shot the bear, which was later located and destroyed.
  • July 25, 1971: An older bear attacked a honeymooning couple who were camping in a tent near Grand Lake. The 31-year-old man was pulled from the campsite and killed. The woman was injured. The bear was later found and destroyed.

 

The Most Dangerous Animals in Colorado + Why They're Dangerous

 

The Most Dangerous Animals in Colorado + Why They're Dangerous

 

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