A trap intended for the bear that was seen wandering through the Stanley Hotel last month and has since been involved in multiple other incidents has been removed after it caught another bear instead, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
The Stanley Hotel bear was going to be euthanized, CPW spokesperson Jason Clay said. The bear that was trapped late Thursday night has since been re-located and hazed to deter it from returning to the Estes Park area again.
CPW has since removed the trap. The Stanley Hotel, meanwhile, has been cited for trash problems due to its repeat bear visitor, and staff received training on how to get wildlife away from and out of the hotel.
The Stanley Hotel bear has had 12 known encounters with humans since it was caught on camera wandering around the Stanley on Aug. 23, according to Clay.
Two days later, Clay said an Estes Park police officer tried to haze the bear at an area south of the hotel. The next day, it went into the “lodge building” and headed up an exterior staircase and into the third floor hallway.
On Sept. 1, Clay said the bear got into two unsecured trash cans in Estes Park, and a wildlife officer had to chase it away.
Then, on Sept. 14, the bear came within 50 yards of a tour group.
Two days after that, Clay said the bear came back to the Stanley, and got into cupcakes and other food that were left in the lobby and ballroom. The animal barricaded itself inside, and police officers ultimately had to lure it out with cupcakes.
That same day, a Stanley Hotel employee found the bear and started banging on the lid of a trash can to drive it away. The animal didn’t react, so the employee threw the lid at the bear and it charged, according to Clay.
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Later, in the employee dorm house, a man laying on the couch watching TV heard sniffing behind him and thought it was someone’s dog, Clay said. It wasn’t: It was the bear, which brushed the back of his head, prompting the man to turn around and scream. The animal ran outside and stopped on the other side of the road.
And then, early the next morning, Clay said the bear knocked over a grease bin at the hotel and ripped up walk-in freezing siding. When a wildlife officer spotted the bear, it didn’t react to being hazed.
On Sept. 20, Clay said the bear knocked over a trash can at the hotel and officers hazed it with a rubber shot.
Four days later though, the bear came back and got into a food hot box left outside from a banquet. Clay said the bear got to snack on chicken and lamb.
Then, a few minutes later, Clay said the bear broke into the hotel owner’s condo after the window was left cracked open and got into the kitchen trash.
Clay said the owner was able to scare the bear out of the window.
A video of the bear wandering through the Stanley has been viewed millions of times. The Stanley, which is around five miles from the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park, is famous for inspiring "The Shining" as well as reports of paranormal activity.
