Bears break into home and attack elderly man in western Colorado

LAKE CITY, Colo. (KRDO) — Colorado Parks and Wildlife responded to a 74-year-old man who was attacked by a black bear with three cubs in his Lake City home.

In a news release, CPW said the bears broke in through a sliding glass door on Oct. 3 around 8:30 p.m. Wildlife officials then said the man tried to use a chair to get the bear back out the door, but the bear charged at the man, pushing him back and punching him.

The 74-year-old man suffered serious injuries to his head, neck, both arms, abdomen, shoulder and calf. The man refused transport to a hospital. According to CPW, this is the first bear attack in 2024.

All four bears were captured and euthanized after the attack. “They are terrible circumstances that our county wildlife managers unfortunately face on a routine basis. Apparently these bears were very habitual and willing to enter an inhabited home while the residents were sitting just a few meters away. When a bear reaches this stage “When we become habituated to humans, there has obviously already been a lot of interaction with humans, and if communities don’t cooperate with us and communicate issues, we have no way to intervene,” said Brandon Diamond, Area Wildlife Manager at CPW, in a news release.

CPW asks the public to contact them before contact between bears and humans escalates to this level.

For more information on how to bear-proof your home with CPW, click here.