A black bear and her three cubs entered a man’s home in Colorado by breaking through a sliding glass door, leading to a confrontation when the man was unable to get them to leave.
Following the attack on Thursday night in Lake City, a small southwestern Colorado town of 400 residents, state wildlife officials euthanized all four bears. The man sustained significant injuries but did not require hospitalization, according to a statement from Colorado Parks & Wildlife on Saturday.
“We’re fortunate this wasn’t a fatal incident—it was very close,” said Colorado wildlife officer Lucas Martin.
The 74-year-old homeowner attempted to scare off the adult female bear using a kitchen chair, but the bear knocked him into a wall and clawed at him, as reported by the wildlife agency. The man sustained injuries to his head, neck, arms, shoulder, abdomen, and calf before he and his wife managed to escape to a bedroom.
A sheriff’s deputy later drove the bears out of the home, and the man received medical treatment at the scene. His identity has not been made public.
Wildlife officials believe the bears had become accustomed to human presence, likely due to recent reports of bears raiding homes in the area in search of food. The four bears were located near the house and euthanized, which is standard procedure for dealing with bears that associate humans with food.
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“This creates a complex situation,” Martin said. “Unfortunately, cubs that learn these behaviors from their mother can lead to ongoing conflicts between bears and people.”
This was Colorado’s first reported bear attack in 2024. In 2023, six bear attacks were recorded in the state.
