Colorado Firefighters Shoo Away Baby Bear From Apartment
AVON, COLO. — They hooped and hollered and banged on the walls, grown men in head-to-toe firefighting gear — including helmets — dispatched in the middle of the night to a second-floor apartment in a small Colorado town to ward off a pesky, unwanted intruder.
“Yahhh!” one man yelled.
“Go on!” another shouted.
“Let him come out and then yell at him,” another chimed in.
“Go on, buddy,” someone coaxed. “Come on.”
Then the men, clustered together in a tight hallway, watched their target emerge.
Snout first.
The suspect, described as a fluffy baby bear, about two feet in height, scurried from the apartment and out of sight.
“No injuries (to human or bear) were reported,” wrote the Eagle River Fire Protection District in a Facebook post accompanying video footage of the standoff.
The fire department was dispatched to the scene, along with deputies from the Eagle County Sheriff’s Office, at 4:45 Saturday morning, April 30.The apartment, in the city of Avon, about 100 miles west of Denver, was on the second floor, authorities said. The human occupying the space woke to the sounds of the suspect rummaging through his refrigerator.
An official motive was not released, but authorities hinted the bear may have been in hot pursuit of a late-night snack.
The man barricaded himself in his bedroom until the scene was secured, authorities said.
Charges of breaking and entering have not yet been filed against the bear.
Wildlife officials say it’s the job of humans to prevent bear burglaries. The animal seeks out food sources as it prepares for a hibernating winter and will choose the easiest option, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Bears can climb and will scale trees growing near homes to gain access to food. Officials advise those who live in bear-populated areas to keep garbage inside and refrain from installing bird feeders until months when bears are hibernating.
Source: Washington Post