ASPEN, Colo. (AP) -- Aspen police responded to about 1,040 calls about problem bears last year.
That's way up from the 82 calls regarding problem bears that police handled in 2008. Police had about 351 such calls in 2010.
Department statistics released Thursday show that bears were the cause of about 5 percent of all calls for service from police last year.
Drought conditions that prompted bears to widen their search for food last summer led to more frequent encounters between bears and humans.
