A black bear trailed a hiker in Golden, Colorado, for half an hour. She did everything right and was still attacked, marking the state’s first attack of 2026.
Colorado wildlife experts say the attack marks what could be an unprecedented year for bear encounters (Photo: Margarita-Young/Getty Images)
Published June 23, 2026 02:35PM
A black bear attacked and subsequently stalked a Colorado hiker in Apex Park, a wilderness area in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, on Sunday, June 21. The incident marks the state’s first reported bear attack of the season, and wildlife experts warn that it reflects unusual behavior in a year with high bear activity.
“This encounter lasted a really long time,” Kara Van Hoose, public information officer with responding agency Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), told Outside. “It was about 30 minutes. Normally, bear conflicts don’t last that long.”
“It’s a red flag,” she added.
According to Van Hoose, the hiker, whose name and age have not been released, suffered minor injuries. The woman was hiking alone on the Enchanted Forest Trail when she encountered a black bear that ripped off her backpack and scratched her leg. The woman tried to scare the bear off by shouting and throwing sticks and rocks. Still, the animal followed her down the trail for more than half an hour.
After two other hikers came to the woman’s aid, the bear left and crossed a nearby gully, where it began following another group of people.
By the time CPW officers responded to the scene, the bear was gone, Van Hoose said. Authorities closed the entire 700-acre park for an undetermined period.
Van Hoose added that the victim didn’t appear to have done anything wrong—she wasn’t even carrying food. The bear seemed acclimated to humans and wasn’t scared.
“We think it’s possible this bear had gotten into trash or been rewarded before with unnatural food,” Van Hoose said. “Maybe it was fed before by humans. We can’t say for sure, but when we see this type of behavior, that’s where our mind goes. It’s used to human presence, and now its food drive has overtaken anything else that would have caused it to run away.”
Authorities say they are still searching for the bear and may relocate or euthanize it once they find it.
“We’re still evaluating our options,” Van Hoose said. “We want to be able to observe the bear and see how it behaves, if we can notice any health problems, for example. First, we need to find it.”
The First Bear Attack of What Could Be an Unprecedented Year
Somewhere between 17,000 and 20,000 black bears live in Colorado, Van Hoose said. Sunday’s encounter is the first recorded bear attack in the state this year, but reports of bears are already abnormally high. The CPW has logged more than 1,500 bear reports this year. At the same time last year, there were only around 1,000.
“A bear report can mean a bear sighting, or it could mean that a bear got into someone’s trash,” Van Hoose said. “Basically, it’s any time someone calls us about a bear.”
Since records began in 1960, Colorado has recorded 97 attacks, three of which occurred in 2025. This uptick in sightings and an unusually warm winter suggest that bears may be particularly problematic this season, according to Van Hoose.
“We’re expecting this to be a higher conflict year with bears because we have a historically low snowpack,” she said. “The Colorado winter didn’t really happen. We didn’t get the normal amount of snow that would sustain bears’ natural food sources, the cherries and berries that they should be eating. Bears still have to eat, and in drought years, they go into neighborhoods and towns, looking for trash and food.”
Leaving food or water out for animals during a drought year can worsen bear problems.
“It’s harmful for them,” Van Hoose said. “It leads to habituation and disease spread. They can find food and water on their own; they may just need to search a little bit more than last year.”
The CPW has six recommendations from the nonprofit education organization BearWise to help Coloradans stay safe from bears while recreating outside.
How to Stay Safe in Bear Country
Stay alert and stay together. Pay attention to your surroundings and keep children within sight and close by. Leave earbuds at home and make noise periodically on the trail so bears can avoid you.
Leave no trash or food scraps behind. Double-bag your food when hiking and pack out all food and trash. Don’t burn food scraps or trash in your fire ring or grill. Leaving scraps, wrappers, or even seemingly harmless items like apple cores teaches bears to associate trails and campsites with food.
Keep dogs leashed. Letting dogs chase or bark at bears invites trouble; don’t force a bear to defend itself. Keep your dogs leashed at all times or leave them at home.
Camp safely. Set up camp away from dense cover and natural food sources. Cook as far from your tent as possible. Do not store food, trash, clothes worn when cooking, or toiletries in your tent. Store food items in approved bear-resistant containers, out of sight in locked vehicles, or suspended at least ten feet above the ground and ten feet from any part of the tree. Local regulations vary.
Know what to do if you encounter a black bear. If you see a bear before it notices you, don’t approach. Stand still, enjoy, then quietly move away. If a bear sees you, back away slowly. Never run; running may trigger a chase response. If a bear approaches, hold your ground, wave your arms, and yell “hey bear” until it leaves. Stay with your group. If it keeps approaching, use bear spray. If a black bear makes contact with you, do not play dead; fight back aggressively.
Carry bear spray and know how to use it. Bear spray is proven to be the easiest and most effective way to deter a bear that threatens you. It doesn’t work like bug repellent, so never spray your tent, campsite, or belongings.
