Colorado Parks and Wildlife is asking the public for help in identifying the person who illegally killed a black bear last fall at Mountain Views at Rivers Edge RV resort south of Creede in Mineral County.

October 1, 2021, CPW wildlife officers responded to a call of a dead bear in the Rio Grande River at the Mountain Views at Rivers Edge RV Resort. Officers found a 7- or 8-year-old sow in the river approximately 175 yards below the bridge at the RV park.

Officers determined the bear had been shot, and they recovered a .22 caliber air rifle pellet from the chest cavity of the bear. The bear was shot as much as two days before it was found. CPW has actively investigated the incident since the discovery.

“Willful destruction of a big-game animal is a felony in Colorado and can result in a lifetime suspension of hunting and fishing privileges,” said Brent Woodward, CPW’s wildlife manager in the Creede district. “Convictions could result in fines ranging from $750 to $3,000 and jail time, depending on the charge.”

CPW is asking the public for any information regarding the parties responsible for the killing of this black bear. Woodward can be reached at 719-850-6366 or at brent.woodward@state.co.us.

To provide information anonymously, the public can contact Operation Game Thief by phone at 877-265-6648 or by email at game.thief@state.co.us. 

Operation Game Thief is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife program that pays rewards to citizens who turn in poachers. A citizens committee administers reward funds in many poaching cases, which is maintained by private contributions. The board may approve rewards of up to $1,000 for flagrant cases.

Poaching is a serious and costly crime. It robs legitimate sportspeople of game and fish, robs businesses and taxpayers of revenues generated by hunting and fishing, and robs all of us of a valuable natural resource that makes Colorado so special: our wildlife.