MANITOU SPRINGS, Colo. – A woman was attacked by a bear Thursday night south of downtown Manitou Springs, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said Friday afternoon – the second person in Colorado known to have been attacked by a bear in the past 24 hours.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the sow, which was with two cubs at the time, charged the woman around 11:40 p.m. Thursday, knocked her down and clawed at her back. She was scratched three times but did not need medical attention, CPW said.
A wildlife manager said the woman was “very lucky” she wasn’t more seriously injured.
Minutes later, a bear chased a different woman on the same block, CPW said, but she was able to escape. Manitou Springs police reported the incidents Friday morning to CPW, the agency said.
Wildlife officers were looking for the bear or bears on Friday afternoon. A bear matching the description was caught by wildlife officers near where the attack occurred and humanely put down early Saturday morning, CPW said. The cubs were also captured and sent to a rehabilitation facility in Wetmore.
Early Friday morning, around 1:30 a.m., a man was attacked in the Aspen area when a bear apparently broke into or opened the door to the guest home in which he was staying.
CPW said the 54-year-old man suffered severe injuries to his face and neck and had to undergo surgery, but said the injuries were not life-threatening.