A bear attacked a woman while she was in her backyard and left her hospitalized in Colorado early Wednesday morning, officials said in a statement.
The woman noticed the lid on her hot tub was partially removed around 2 a.m. Wednesday in New Castle, Colorado. She stepped outside to fix the lid when a bear charged at her from a tree. The bear swiped at the woman, lacerating her arm and scratching up her back, according to the statement. She was able to run inside her home and call 911.
When police arrived, they found a total of four bears on scene, according to the statement. The bear that attacked the victim turned out to be a sow, a mother bear traveling with her cubs, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials later discovered.
A police officer tracked down the sow in a tree close to a nearby middle school and shot it to death on advice of wildlife officials, according to the statement.
State wildlife officials then arrived on scene around 3 a.m.. They euthanized one cub, but determined afterward that the sow had been the only attacker. They tranquilized the remaining pair of cubs, removed them from the tree and sent them to a rehabilitation facility, officials said in the statement.
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The sow and her cubs had been seen in the area before, but never showed any aggressive behavior, the statement said.
USA TODAY’s inquiries to Colorado Parks and Wildlife about the condition of the woman and the tranquilized cub were not immediately returned Thursday.