{
  "id": "2023-09-12-cu-boulder-bear-in-tree",
  "slug": "cu-boulder-bear-in-tree-2023-09-12",
  "institution": {
    "name": "University of Colorado Boulder",
    "shortName": "CU Boulder",
    "state": "CO",
    "type": "public-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "CU Boulder Alerts",
    "enrollment": 39000
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2023-09-12",
    "type": "other",
    "cleryCategory": "advisory",
    "headline": "Black bear in a tree near the engineering complex prompts an advisory to avoid the area",
    "headlinePublic": "Black bear in a tree near the engineering complex prompts an advisory to avoid the area",
    "summary": "On the morning of September 12, 2023, a black bear was [spotted in a tree on the northwest side of CU Boulder's Engineering Center next to the Math building, prompting a CU Advisory to avoid the area](https://kdvr.com/news/local/bear-spotted-on-cu-campus/). CU Boulder Police and Colorado Parks and Wildlife [roped off the area while the bear came down and safely left campus](https://www.longmontleader.com/local-news/bear-sighting-reported-on-cu-boulder-campus-on-thursday-11231748).",
    "outcome": "No injuries. The bear descended from the tree and left campus on its own; the advisory was lifted once it departed.",
    "resolution": "confirmed-threat"
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Morning of September 12, 2023, when the bear was spotted in a tree near the Engineering Center",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "CU Advisory: Bear spotted in tree near Engineering, avoid area\n\nCU Boulder Police and Colorado Parks and Wildlife roped off an area on the northwest side of the Engineering Center next to the Math Building due to a bear in a tree.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.colorado.edu/2023/09/12/cu-advisory-bear-spotted-tree-near-engineering-avoid-area",
      "sourceDescription": "CU Boulder Alerts archived advisory page (alerts.colorado.edu)",
      "annotations": [
        "The headline 'CU Advisory: Bear spotted in tree near Engineering, avoid area' is the exact title of the CU Boulder Alerts post, and the body sentence is the exact text of the archived advisory, confirmed via exact-phrase matches against the official page.",
        "The advisory body is a single past-tense sentence describing the rope-off rather than an imperative instruction, an unusually terse construction even for a lowest-tier advisory.",
        "Posted as a CU Advisory, the campus's lowest-tier discretionary notification, consistent with a wildlife sighting that is not a Clery crime."
      ],
      "characterCount": 230
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "all-clear",
      "timestampApprox": "Later the morning of September 12, 2023, after the bear left campus",
      "channel": "website",
      "verbatimText": "CUPD and CPW cleared the scene.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://alerts.colorado.edu/2023/09/12/cu-advisory-bear-spotted-tree-near-engineering-avoid-area",
      "sourceDescription": "Closing update line on the CU Boulder Alerts archived advisory page",
      "annotations": [
        "The exact closing update on the official advisory page is a five-word agency shorthand ('CUPD and CPW cleared the scene.'), confirmed via an exact-phrase match against alerts.colorado.edu.",
        "Functions as the all-clear because clearing the scene ended the rope-off, even though the update never uses the words 'all clear' or explicitly reopens the area.",
        "The bear leaving on its own, rather than being tranquilized, is why no wildlife-capture follow-up appears in the sequence."
      ],
      "characterCount": 31
    }
  ],
  "context": "CU Boulder sits against the Front Range foothills, where black bears occasionally wander onto campus in fall as they forage before hibernation. On the morning of [September 12, 2023, a bear climbed a tree on the northwest side of the Engineering Center next to the Math building, and CU Boulder Police plus Colorado Parks and Wildlife roped off the area](https://kdvr.com/news/local/bear-spotted-on-cu-campus/). The university [posted a CU Advisory titled 'Bear spotted in tree near Engineering, avoid area'](https://alerts.colorado.edu/2023/09/12/cu-advisory-bear-spotted-tree-near-engineering-avoid-area). The bear eventually [came down and left campus on its own without harm](https://www.longmontleader.com/local-news/bear-sighting-reported-on-cu-boulder-campus-on-thursday-11231748). CU Boulder later reiterated its standard guidance: if you see a bear on campus, call 911, stand still, stay calm, and let the bear identify you and leave. The case is a tidy example of a low-tier discretionary advisory (a 'CU Advisory') being used for a wildlife sighting, complete with a physical area closure and a clean all-clear.",
  "keyFindings": [
    "CU Boulder used its lowest-tier 'CU Advisory' notification for a black bear in a tree near the Engineering Center on September 12, 2023, not a Clery timely warning",
    "CU Boulder Police and Colorado Parks and Wildlife roped off the area near the Math building until the bear came down and left campus on its own",
    "Because the bear departed without being tranquilized and no one was hurt, the sequence ends in a genuine all-clear reopening the area"
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "CU Advisory: Bear spotted in tree near Engineering, avoid area - CU Boulder Alerts",
      "url": "https://alerts.colorado.edu/2023/09/12/cu-advisory-bear-spotted-tree-near-engineering-avoid-area",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Bear seen on University of Colorado Boulder campus - FOX31",
      "url": "https://kdvr.com/news/local/bear-spotted-on-cu-campus/",
      "type": "local-media"
    },
    {
      "title": "Bear Sighting Reported on CU Boulder Campus on Thursday - Longmont Leader",
      "url": "https://www.longmontleader.com/local-news/bear-sighting-reported-on-cu-boulder-campus-on-thursday-11231748",
      "type": "local-media"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "wildlife",
    "bear",
    "advisory",
    "colorado",
    "all-clear",
    "cu-boulder"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-28",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-06-10",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}