Bear attacks and seriously injures man in his own garage, Colorado officials say

A man in Colorado was seriously injured Sunday night when a bear attacked him in his own garage, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials say.

Around 11 p.m., the man noticed the garage door at his Steamboat Springs home was open, and went to close it, officials said in a news release.

In the garage — where the homeowner stores birdseed and “other attractants” — he came face to face with a mother bear and two cubs.

The man tried to slowly back away, but the bear attacked, seriously injuring him, officials say.

He suffered lacerations to his head and legs that required surgery. Officials say his injuries aren’t life-threatening and that he’s in stable condition.

CPW officials responded to the scene and soon found the bear near the home. It was euthanized and its remains were sent to a lab for a necropsy.

Officials are still searching for the two cubs.

When they’re found, officials plan to trap the cubs and send them to a rehabilitation facility.

This is the first bear attack in Steamboat Springs this year. Officials warn homeowners to keep anything that could attract bears safely stored away.

“Easy access to food will always override a bear’s natural fear of people,” Kyle Bond, CPW district wildlife manager, said in a statement. “So we humans have to stay on top of keeping all food sources secure.”

While bear attacks are rare, the National Park Service warns people to not get between a mother and her cubs. “The chances of an attack escalate greatly if she perceives you as a danger to her cubs,” NPS says.

Steamboat Springs is roughly 150 miles northwest of Denver.

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