Frisco Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center took in 47 orphaned black bear cubs in 2026, a record for the San Luis Valley facility that normally handles about 20 cubs in a typical year. The cubs arrived from all four regions tracked by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, forcing staff to retrofit pens originally built for other animals just to keep up with the need.
According to KOAA News 5, Colorado Parks and Wildlife reported that Frisco Creek cared for the record number of cubs this year, with staff saying the center has averaged roughly 20 orphaned cubs annually over the past 15 years. The breakdown by region tells its own story: 21 of the 47 bears came from CPW's Southeast Region, 18 from the Northeast, seven from the Southwest and just one from the Northwest. The first arrival came in mid-April, a six-pound cub from Evergreen, the outlet reported.
Staff had to finish modifications to several pens that were previously set up for other species and were not well suited to bear cubs, the station's report noted. This year, Frisco Creek had no bobcats, mountain lions or red foxes in its care, freeing up space and attention for the flood of bears. The center usually accepts young-of-the-year cubs, but it has increasingly treated yearling bears too, even though yearlings needing help are typically encountered in spring or late winter rather than the middle of the year.
Drought Squeezed Natural Food Supplies Statewide
The surge wasn't isolated to one facility or one corner of the state. Colorado Parks and Wildlife described 2026 as its worst statewide year for natural bear-food production since the agency began surveys in 2008, according to Colorado Outdoors Online. CPW also reported that 2026 marked the worst year of human-bear conflicts on record, the same station's report noted.
A CPW spokesperson told Colorado Newsline that extreme drought conditions have limited natural forage in the higher elevations, pushing hungry bears into closer contact with people and leaving more cubs without mothers able to care for them. As of August 31, the state had logged 8,672 reports of bear-related sightings and incidents, compared with 3,680 reports through the same point in 2025, Colorado Newsline reported.
A Burned Yearling's Long Recovery
Among the more severe cases this year was a yearling injured in the Aspen Acres Fire, which arrived at Frisco Creek on July 20 weighing just 31 pounds with burns on the bottom of all four paws, per Colorado Outdoors Online. CPW field veterinarian Dr. Jane Riner treated the bear with special wound dressings to guard against infection and used multi-wavelength light therapy to speed healing, according to the magazine's reporting.
The bear recovered well enough to stop bandaging and stand comfortably within nine days, and its burns have since completely healed, the outlet reported. CPW's plan, per the same account, was to release the yearling in late November once he was ready to den up for the winter.
Other Rescues Felt the Same Strain
Frisco Creek wasn't alone in getting overwhelmed. The Pauline S. Schneegas Wildlife Foundation in Silt, one of only two facilities licensed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife to care for orphaned, injured or underweight bears, was housing 32 bear cubs by mid-October, according to The Colorado Sun. That's nearly four times the Silt center's typical annual intake of five to nine cubs, the Sun reported.
CPW officials said Frisco Creek took in 29 cubs in 2025, and that the center's annual counts have historically ranged from as few as four cubs in a slow year to as many as 40 in a busy one, KOAA News 5 reported. Earlier in the year, five bear cubs that had been nursed back to health were returned to their natural habitat after receiving care at Frisco Creek, according to KRDO.
Michael Sirochman said wildlife officers are grateful to have somewhere to send orphaned cubs when a sow can't be found or doesn't survive, according to the station's report. He added that Frisco Creek will keep trying to meet the need and give orphaned cubs a second chance, even as staff hope that future years bring totals back down closer to the historical average of about 20 cubs or fewer.
