What should I do if I see injured wildlife? Call *277!

Inside The Outdoors

After the initial shock of seeing an animal struck on the road, an elk entangled in a net (or basketball goal, hammock, or holiday lights), your mind might race to the question, “What should I do?”

Here is your answer and it’s all wrapped up in 4 characters: *277.

Why that number?

Colorado State Patrol (CSP) operates a nonemergency phone line, *CSP (which is *277). While human-related emergency calls should always be sent to 911, the CSP non-emergency number can be used for wildlife emergencies.

What are wildlife emergencies?

Animals that are injured and need immediate assistance are appropriate issues for a *277 call. Humanwildlife con icts, such as an animal attack or car crash, should be sent to 911.

When nearby and not involved in another call, CSP troopers or CPW o cers may respond to *277 calls about herds of elk that are moving slowly across Highway 74 and are blocking tra c for long periods of time. In this case, the trooper or ofcer will calm tra c but are not allowed to interfere with the animals’ progress across the road for safety reasons.

What happens when I call *277?

Just like a 911 dispatcher, the *277 dispatcher will ask pertinent questions and will contact the appropriate agency to respond to the wildlife emergency. e dispatcher knows the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) o cers, CSP trooper, Je co Sheri ’s deputy or Evergreen Fire/ Rescue responders on duty.

Why not call Colorado Parks and Wildlife, county animal control or a wildlife rehabilitator directly?

While those are all options, calling *277 will allow a dispatcher to make the determination of which organization is appropriate to respond to that wildlife emergency, and *277 is always available.

What about nights and weekends?

Dialing *277 is an excellent option because the caller does not have to be concerned with knowing an agency’s o ce hours. People may have di culty thinking clearly when facing an emergency involving a su ering animal, and dialing *277 is simple and fast.

When is *277 not the right choice?

Do not call *277 when:

You see dead animals or roadkill (the state or county road crews will likely remove them, but you may also contact them to report the carcass) unless the carcass is a human safety issue, such as blocking tra c. You have wildlife questions of a non-emergency nature (call CPW or another wildlife-based agency or nonpro t during o ce hours)

Other important details concerning animals in the road:

Wildlife carcasses discovered on personal property are the responsibility of the property owner. Options are calling a carcass removal company or in some cases, the animal may be harvested for which a permit from CPW is required. loved about someone else we had gotten to know during the week. We had to write it down privately on a note, and then read it out loud before handing it to the person at our table that we were writing about. I will share with you that the person reading the note and receiving the compliments was usually in tears, happy tears. As it was Jill’s turn to be the center of attention, we all eagerly wrote our messages of love, a ection, and appreciation. And as we all read our note, the consistency was unreal; Jill was light, love, passionate, determined, a role model of success, bright, beautiful, and someone who exuded the desire to help others.

CPW asks that residents experiencing bear encounters contact the appropriate CPW o ce to report the incident. Sta will share important information with the callers, such as how to bearproof the home and how to haze the animal, with the goal of preventing bears and other wildlife from feeling comfortable near homes. Bears that associate food with humans may become increasingly aggressive. Regretfully, when a bear breaks into a home, he is then considered a danger to human beings and may be put down by CPW o cers.

To report bear encounters, learn more about bear-proo ng, or ask wildlife-related questions, please contact CPW’s Denver o ce at (303) 291-7227.

Why am I sharing this story? Sadly, Jill passed away suddenly last month. Her beautiful smile to never grace this earth again, but that will bless the halls of heaven for eternity. ose of us who knew her well, knew all sides of Jill as we had three plus years to share calls, Zoom calls, webinars, texts, and emails. Some of us got to see her and be with her since we graduated ZLC23. And there wasn’t any one of us who didn’t appreciate her e orts to worry more about us and how we were doing than how she was personally doing herself.

As the news hit our ZLC23 class, we reached out to one another for comfort and understanding; it’s one of the things that happen when you become Ziglar certi ed and connect with your classmates, you graduate as di erence makers in the personal, professional, and spiritual lives of everyone you have the opportunity to meet. And Jill epitomized that mission and purpose, she changed us all. Even when she was going through life’s challenges herself, she was the rst one to respond to a prayer request, jump into a conversation, or ask a meaningful question during a podcast or webinar.

Jill was a di erence maker. I write this column as a tribute to Jill, a true ZLC’er class of ‘23. I write this to remind us that we all have something to give to others regardless of how short or long our lives here on earth are. We can smile, be kind, show our passion, know our purpose, and simply care about the person sitting across from us in the moment, because that is who Jill was, a living example to us all.

Is there someone who you need to tell how awesome they are before they are gone? Did this tribute connect with you? I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail. com, and when we can remember those who left their ngerprints of love and light on our lives, it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and busi-

Be Studio is an all-inclusive space for people young and old to feel the music and express themselves. For dancers who want to break out of the traditional dance studio format, the international company based in Denver could be a dream come

Striving to bring the magic of global movement to people in Colorado, Caitlin BroznaSmith founded the dance studio that brings a piece of global culture along with self-expression and con dence with each class.

“It was so important to include people from where these cultures are sourced,” said Brozna-Smith. “I found people from Polynesia to teach Polynesian dance… teachers from Iran. We really have this beautiful, electric group of dancers from all over the

Among a multitude of dance styles, students can learn the soft style of Hula ‘Auana, Tahitian dance, Bollywood, Belly Dancing, adult ballet and Ginga Vibe, which draws on styles from the African Diaspora including Funk, Afro-Caribe, Dance Hall, Soca, Lambada and Samba. e studio also o ers Taiji Fit, a halfhour mind and low-impact body workout that combines traditional T’ai Chi with mindfulness and modern Western tness. Inspired by the Bollywood style of dance, BollyX Fitness is a 50-minute cardio workout and GROOV3 Hip Hop Dance Fitness.

Within the Bella Diva studio, both the

Students learn worldwide dance styles at Bella Diva World Dance Studio

BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

teaching sta and students are multinational. e dance teachers come from ve di erent countries and teach a range of students from 29 di erent countries.

To bring as much authentic culture into Denver, many teachers have gone abroad to study di erent styles of dance.

“ e people (teachers) who are not native from the cultures that we’re teaching travel and learn from the source because it’s really important that we do cultural appreciation and cultural exchange,” Brozna-Smith said.

Samba teach countries. styles (teachers) the from source appreciation exchange,” Brozna-Smith abso-

Samba, the high energy and fast footwork style is not just a dance form, it is a lifestyle. ose who teach Samba at Bella Diva make sure they are staying true to the culture and teach the students the history of where the dance originated.

“I am very careful when I am teaching my students because I am not Brazilian, it is not my culture, but it is something that I am absolutely fascinated with and love,” said instructor Chelsi Vecchiavelli. “I spend a lot of time outside of class researching, asking experts, listening to podcasts, consulting my mentors who are Brazilian and who are my teachers.”

Born out of the slave trade when it was down in Brazil, Samba was a means of hope and joy and is a dance of resistance and raises up against oppression.

Samba schools have often been located in a favela, which is the poor neighborhoods within Rio De Janeiro. Vecchiavelli said there is