A bear made an early-morning visit to a Breckenridge hotel Tuesday, Aug. 6, walking through a pair of automatic doors and helping itself to some chocolate before police officers scared it back into the woods using bright lights and the loud electrical crackle of a taser.

An overnight staff member at Grand Timber Lodge called the Breckenridge Police Department before 4 a.m. after spotting the bear inside the building. Body camera footage posted to Facebook and timestamped 4:05 a.m. shows the bear strolling through a hallway by the hotel lobby and eventually making its way back outside as officers redirected it. 

According to Officer Cory Olsen, the bear entered through the lodge’s automatic front doors before becoming confined in the front office area. The bear also made its way into a snack storage room, knocking over several bags and indulging in some M&Ms. In the body camera video, the officer on scene can be heard saying, “I guess he really liked the M&Ms” after commenting that the room smelled like “wet dog.” 

Olsen said Breckenridge police most often respond to bear encounters at night when the animals crawl into dumpsters, garages or vehicles. 

“It’s a pretty unique one — we haven’t had too many (bears) in commercial buildings,” Olsen said. 

Officers generally try to deter bears without causing any physical harm. Olsen said the police department almost always contacts Colorado Parks and Wildlife with reports of animal encounters. 

“But for the most part, we can deter the animals,” he said. “We never want to hurt the animal unless absolutely necessary as a last resort.”

After inspecting the premises, the Breckenridge police officer in body camera footage can be seen backing out through the lodge’s double doors with a Taser in hand. He activated the device’s arc switch, creating a bright spark and loud electrical snapping noise.

“For some reason, we’ve determined that bears hate that sound,” Olsen said. 

The officer was positioned outside the building’s front entrance as the bear walked down the lodge’s hallway and exited through the doors, which the officer had propped open. 

Olsen said officers commonly use “takedown” lights, spotlights and police-vehicle sirens to encourage animals to leave an area. He said it’s typically safer for an officer to get behind the animal to reroute it. But that wasn’t initially possible Tuesday, so the two officers on scene waited for an opportunity to divert the bear away from the lodge.

In the rare case that a bear doesn’t respond to typical deterrents like light and loud noise, Olsen said officers are equipped with less-lethal orange shotguns that can fire “beanbag” rounds designed not to pierce the animal’s skin but instead startle it enough to leave the area. Olsen said he can only remember one incident in the past three years in which officers resorted to that method. If an animal appears unbothered by human interaction, officers typically involve Colorado Parks and Wildlife. 

For Olsen, the unusual hotel guest also serves as a reminder that bears live alongside residents in the High Country. 

“We built our houses on their houses,” he said. 

Olsen encouraged residents and visitors to take basic precautions, including locking vehicles, removing food from inside cars and maintaining a safe distance from wildlife. 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife instructs not to approach a black bear and instead quietly move away if the bear hasn’t spotted any passerbys yet. But if a bear spots a person first, it’s advised to back away slowly, as running may lead to a chase. Remaining in groups is also highly recommended. 

If the bear begins to approach, people should wave their arms and yell “Hey bear!” until it retreats. If a bear continues approaching or refuses to leave, that’s when Colorado Parks and Wildlife recommends using bear spray. If a bear does make contact, the state agency advises to “fight back aggressively.”

Colorado Parks and Wildlife maintains a webpage with bear safety tips at CPW.State.CO.US/living-bears.