A Montana couple had an unusual visitor when they found a huge black bear in their living room. They then decided to take matters into their own hands and shot the intruder dead in its tracks.
Seeley Oblander and fiancé Thomas Bolkcom were woken up at 3am when pet pooch Maizey started barking ferociously, reports Fox News. The couple initially brushed off the barking as Maizey spotting a raccoon or a skunk.
But Bolkcom eventually decided to go and investigate what was making the dog bark. When Bolkcom, a commercial painter and elk hunter, went to try and coax Labrador-pit bull mix Maizey away from the living room, he was met by the large bear.
Oblander says it was “five feet away” from her husband-to-be. Wearing just his underwear and a t-shirt, Bolkcom ran back downstairs, fetched a handgun, and returned to the living room, shooting the bear.
Oblander praised Bolkcom for his quick reaction, saying he had done “a great job.” She said: “I never thought there would be a bear in our house, so that was quite the wakeup call at three in the morning.
“I just stayed downstairs with the dogs, trying to help keep them out of the way and let Tom handle it. He did a great job.”
With a black bear lying dead in their living room, the couple had to call for help. Aided by Bolkcom’s dad and brothers, they carried the animal into the yard of their rural Luther property.
A local warden told them the bear was about 10 years old and 250 to 300 pounds.
Rocky Oblander said: “At least nobody got hurt. It’s just too sad because it was a beautiful bear.”
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokesperson Chrissy Webb says the local warden deemed the shooting justified in self-defence. The bear had accessed through a screened window and made itself comfortable, the warden concluded.
“This is pretty abnormal behavior to have a bear entering a home,” Webb said. “This large male black bear ended up dying because of improperly stored attractants in the community.”
Bears become more active during the spring and summer months. In recent weeks there have been reports of bear activity in a Southern California pool, a backyard in Maine, and an Idaho man’s garage.
