Sunday, October 25, 2026

Question: What is the only bear species living in the wild in Colorado today?

Answer: The American black bear. Despite their name, black bears in Colorado are not always black. They frequently have brown, cinnamon, blonde, or even reddish-brown fur. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the statewide population is estimated to be between 17,000 and 20,000 bears.

Grizzly bears once roamed the western part of Colorado, but the last confirmed grizzly in the state was killed in 1979.