By Micheal Chukwuebuka, Reporting
A black bear and its three cubs reportedly broke into a 74-year-old Colorado man’s house and attacked him.
According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the attack, which happened last Thursday in Lake City, was the first bear attack in the state this year.
NBC News reported Tuesday that the animals got into the home about 8:30 p.m., startling residents who heard a loud crash and saw the bears entering through the door.
The man who was injured responded by grabbing a chair and trying to direct the bear out the door, but the animal charged him, knocking him into a wall.
The bear then swiped at the man, who was clawed on his head, neck, arms, abdomen, shoulder and calf, officials said.
He was treated at home and declined to go to the hospital. The attack could have been much worse, according to officials.
“It’s certainly lucky we didn’t have a fatality, because it was close,” state Parks and Wildlife Officer Lucas Martin said.
When law enforcement and medical personnel arrived, they found residents locked in a bedroom while the three cubs remained in the home.
A county deputy was able to get the cubs to leave the house.
The bear and her cubs were euthanized after confirmation of their involvement in the attack.
“It’s a terrible set of circumstances that, unfortunately, our district wildlife managers are routinely faced with.
“Clearly, these bears were highly habituated and were willing to enter an occupied house with the residents sitting just feet away.
“When a bear reaches this level of human habituation, clearly a lot of interaction with people has already happened,” Parks and Wildlife Area Wildlife Manager Brandon Diamond said in a statement.
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