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Man Hides Behind Locked Door After Bear Encounter

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) - A man in Colorado Springs said he was shocked after coming face to face with a bear Monday morning.

Griffin Smith came home to find a bear helping itself to some pet food in his kitchen.

"At first I thought it was a dog because I couldn't believe there was a bear but then it was up to my chest so it obviously wasn't a dog," said Smith, who lives with his parents near the Broadmoor Hotel.

He told CBS4 he dashed for his bedroom.

"I locked the door and hid behind it and it wasn't that interested in me," he said. "It seemed to be really happy eating our cat and dog food."

Smith called 911 and then got an idea. Still locked in the room, he used his cellphone to call his home phone. He's not sure if it was effective, but a little while later the bear left.

Smith's family has multiple beehives in their yard. He thinks the bear probably smelled all the honey.

"We really invited the bear in with the honey in our trash cans, the honey combs by the front door," he said.

Smith said there's plenty of wildlife around his home, but he's never seen a bear come for an unexpected visit before.

Michael Seraphin with the Division of Parks & Wildlife said Coloradans should be "more bear aware than ever" right now.

"We're having a lot of calls about human-bear encounters," Seraphin said.

The recent hot weather in Colorado has made it harder for bears to find berries and plants to eat.

Last week wildlife officials had to kill a bear near Leadville after it entered two teens' tent and attacked one of them, causing numerous injuries.

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