A 39-year-old Colorado woman died in an apparent bear attack after going out to walk her two dogs.
The woman, whose identity will not be shared until the autopsy is complete next week, was noticed to be missing when her boyfriend came home at 8:30 p.m. and found their two dogs outside the home. He called 911 around 9 p.m., when he discovered her body.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers arrived on the scene and found evidence that the body had been partially consumed. Bear scat and hair was found at the scene, so a dog team was sent to find any nearby bears. A black bear and her yearlings were discovered and euthanized. Human remains were found in the stomachs of the mama bear and one of the cubs.
"Whenever an animal is euthanized, we receive many questions about why that action was necessary," said CPW director Dan Prenzlow in a release, per the Denver Post.
"Our responsibilities to the natural resources of the state are many, but we have no more important duty than to manage these resources in a manner that keeps Coloradans and our visitors safe. Euthanizing wildlife is never an action our officers take lightly, but we have an obligation to prevent additional avoidable harm."
CPW Southwest Region manager Cory Chick elaborated on why the bears had to be euthanized. "Once a bear injures or consumes humans, we will not risk the chance that this could happen to someone else," he said.
"We humanely euthanize that bear because of the severity of the incident."
This story originaly appeared on LittleThings in 2021.
