When a Wisconsin couple spotted a black bear at their bird feeder, they followed protocol: From a (presumably) secure place—inside their own home—they began yelling to scare the bear away, reports CNN. The adult female bear, however, responded in unusually aggressive fashion by charging the couple, breaking through a window at the home, and attacking them, per the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The couple fought back, at one point stabbing the bear with a kitchen knife. Finally, the husband reached a firearm and fatally shot the animal.
"I think it was just a situation where (the bear) was startled," says Pat Beringer of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. "99.9% of the time, a yell will scare them away and they will run off. But for whatever reason, this one felt extra scared and wanted to subdue whatever the threat was." One possible factor: The bear was with her yearling, a nearly full-grown bear, who ran away when the couple began yelling. The Medford couple sustained bite injuries, but their sleeping children were not hurt. For the record, wildlife officials don't recommend leaving bird feeders up during warmer weather when bears are active. (More bear attack stories.)
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