Colorado man who shot at bear family caught between defending livestock & breaking city law

A Trinidad man is facing a Class 2 misdemeanor charge after he killed two bear cubs. Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) officers say the cubs, along with their mother and another cub, were killing the man's chickens at the time of the shooting. CPW cited Woodrow Lopez, 28, for carless discharge of a firearm, which is punishable by a fine of $100 to $1,000.

CPW captured the third cub, and released it back into bear habitat, away from the city. 

"The cub, a male estimated at about 40-pounds, was deemed healthy by CPW officers. With excellent crops of acorns and chokecherries, it should easily survive," said Mike Brown, CPW Area Wildlife Manager for the region including Trinidad. 

Officers tried to capture the mother bear, but she evaded capture. CPW will be looking out for the sow so that she can be relocated too. 

"This is a highly unusual situation inside city limits," Brown said. "Property owners are within their legal rights to defend their livestock if their animals are being attacked by predators, such as bears or lions. However, this individual was shooting a rifle inside city limits and we deemed it an act that endangered human life and property of neighbors."