In the latest in a series of bad encounters with black bears in the region, a female bear with three cubs broke into a Colorado couple’s home and attacked a man. All four bears were later killed by wildlife agents.
The 74-year-old man suffered wounds to his head, neck, arms, lower abdomen, shoulder and calf, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).
He was treated at the scene and taken to a nearby hospital.
CPW didn’t release the man’s name. The attack happened at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday in Lake City, Colorado, a small town in the southwestern part of the state.
‘Loud Crash’
The couple was startled by a “large crash” and discovered that the bears had opened a partially-cracked sliding glass door, according to CPW.
The man grabbed a kitchen chair and tried to scare the mother bear back out the door. The bear charged him, knocked him against a wall, stood over the victim and swiped at him, CPW stated.
The man escaped, and he and his wife fled to another room, locked themselves in and called for help.
Neighbors responded to the commotion and tried, but failed to frighten the bears out of the house. A sheriff’s deputy finally hazed them out, and they climbed up trees just outside the house, according to CPW.
Two CPW officers responded and killed the bears, the agency reported.
One Of Many Incidents
There have been numerous recent reports of black bear attacks around the region.
On Aug. 11, Madison Findley-Dickson, 3, was attacked and injured by a black bear that entered her tent at a private campground south of Red Lodge, Montana, near Yellowstone National Park.
She was taken to a hospital in Billings, Montana, treated and released.
In August 2023, Thomas Bolkom shot and killed a bear inside his house in the tiny community of Luther, Montana, near the Wyoming State Line.
He told investigating wildlife agents that he and his wife were awakened by a ruckus at about 3 a.m., and he found the bear in his living room. The shooting was deemed self-defense.
Last year saw a rash of black bear problems in and near Sheridan.
On June 20, 2023, Wyoming Game and Fish wardens killed a young male black bear just outside the home of Roseanne Gentry and her husband Kim in the rural community of Big Horn, near Sheridan.
The bear showed up on their porch, just after raiding two other houses in the area.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
