Bear cubs orphaned when poacher kills mom in Colorado. Officials puzzled weeks later

A poacher shot and killed a bear and left its two cubs orphaned, Colorado officials said.

Weeks later, state wildlife officials are still puzzled about what happened.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said Wednesday they need help identifying who shot and killed the mother bear at the end of July.

Officials received a report July 26 that a female bear was dead in Woodland Park. When they arrived, officials found the cubs in a tree and took them to a rehabilitation center.

“An examination of the sow’s carcass revealed it had been shot,” officials said. “Additional details are not being released due to the ongoing investigation.”

After weeks of investigating, officials have a “lack of leads,” Parks and Wildlife said. Now it is offering a reward for information that could lead to the poacher’s arrest.

“This is poaching and it’s illegal, and we want to catch the person who did this,” Corey Adler, district wildlife manager, said in a news release. “But we need the public’s help.”

In Colorado, someone who illegally injures or kills wildlife could face misdemeanor charges, including harassment of wildlife, illegal taking of wildlife or reckless endangerment.

The poacher could face up to $3,000 in fines and spend six months in jail, officials said.

“Colorado Parks and Wildlife takes these situations very seriously,” Cody Wigner, area wildlife manager for the Pikes Peak region, said in the news release. “Someone made a decision to kill this animal, orphaning her two cubs. We need to find this person.”

This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 10:10 AM with the headline "Bear cubs orphaned when poacher kills mom in Colorado. Officials puzzled weeks later."