A bear photographed at the Pike National Forest in Colorado.Photo:Getty Images/iStockphoto
Getty Images/iStockphoto
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is searching for a small black bear that entered an 82-year-old woman’s home and scratched her on Friday. Once found, the bear will be euthanized.
TheCPW said in a press releasethat the bear, which is believed to be either a cub or a yearling due to its size, broke into the residence near Boncarbo, west of Trinidad, shortly after midnight.
The woman told officials that she woke up after hearing a crashing sound and her dog growling. When she opened the doors to her mudroom, the cinnamon-colored bear jumped at her, she told the CPW.
She was able to push the animal off of her before shutting it into the mudroom, though she sustained some scratches in the encounter.
The bear then roamed around inside the mudroom, climbed on a shelf, and left the house through an open window screen, the CPW said in their release.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife
“Human health and safety always remain our top priority in any incident like this, regardless of how minor the injuries are,” Mike Brown, CPW area wildlife manager for the region, said in the news release. “CPW officers are doing everything we can to locate this bear. Luckily, the victim’s injuries consist of very minor scratches.”
The CPW stated that the woman ultimately declined medical attention.
Bears that cause an injury are deemed dangerous, under CPW’s rules, and must be “humanely euthanized” if captured. The department also stated that a trap has been set for the bear if it returns to the woman’s home.
This is the second episode involving a bear in the Trinidad area in the last two weeks. On August 5,a black bear bit the arm of a camperin the Purgatoire River bottoms, the CPW reported.
The camper told authorities that he was relaxing in a hammock when he heard a noise. When he turned on a headlamp, the camper saw the bear, which proceeded to bite his upper right arm about 2-3 inches deep. Then the animal turned and wandered off.
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The department also stated that officials don’t believe the two recent incidents are connected, adding that there are now four reported bear attacks in the entirety of Colorado so far this year.
Colorado is not the only state to experience a bear attack this summer. Last month,a jogger from Asheville, North Carolina,narrowly escaped an encounter with a mother bear.
source: people.com
