Colorado Family Trapped Inside Home By Injured Angry Black Bear

A bear walking in a field
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Instances of people coming into conflict with bears continue to rise across the country. This time of year can be especially ripe for run-ins with bears as the big bruins are laser-focused on finding food to help prepare for hibernation.

While plenty of black bear escapades are more entertaining than dangerous, this story in Colorado teeters more towards hazardous than funny.

A family in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, had to lock themselves in an upstairs room of their home after a black bear broke into their house while searching for food.

They were able to contact Colorado Parks & Wildlife, who sent officers to the scene. Attempts to haze the bear out of the house were unsuccessful, and when the bear became aggressive, conservation officers elected to dispatch it for the sake of health and human safety.

The bear reportedly entered the home through an open garage door before causing chaos.

According to District Wildlife Manager Adam Gerstenberger, the bear had been seen attempting to open other garage doors throughout the neighborhood, and it appears that an injury impacted the bear’s ability to gather food on its own accord.

“The bear had a broken lower jaw that was split in the middle. 

It had healed up wrong, and one of its canines was hanging out from its upper lip. 

The other lower canine was shattered, so its teeth weren’t meeting up. The injury is likely the reason why the bear had turned to human food sources.”

It was the first of two bears to be euthanized in the Steamboat Springs area within the last few weeks.

The second bear had reportedly lost all fear of humans and ultimately entered a home by opening a sliding glass door and helping itself to the refrigerator. The bear had already broken into a neighboring home once, and the day before it entered the house, it ripped open the screen door and was seen on the front porch.

“A 200-pound bear in hyperphagia that has no fear of entering a home in search of food is a dangerous bear that poses an imminent threat to humans. 

Luckily, this bear hadn’t entered an occupied home yet. A wild bear in a confined space with humans would be very dangerous for the homeowners. Unfortunately, we’ve had several similar situations in Steamboat Springs recently.

It’s essential to be diligent this time of year and secure any attractants you might have around your home, especially in areas where there is known bear activity.”

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