Like human burglars, bears typically break in when the homeowners are away. Given the large percentage of Aspen properties that are let as vacation rentals part of the year, empty homes are easy for bears to find. With bolder bears, burglary may escalate to home invasion. Often the bear comes in while people are asleep, especially, Kurtis says, when it’s hot and someone has left the windows open. Or a sliding door is left unlocked. Sometimes the residents are not asleep. “We’ve had people eating dinner at their table and the bear walks in, grabs some food off the table, and runs back outside.
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