A security guard got the scare of his life when he encountered a bear in the kitchen of an upscale hotel in Aspen, Colorado, late Monday night.
In a video shared by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the black bear can be seen moving around the kitchen of the St. Regis Aspen Resort before disappearing from the camera’s view to explore an adjoining room. Then the guard came and looked for the bear.
As the man followed the animal’s tracks, he came face to face with the animal, which did not appreciate the surprise. We can see the beast rising on its hind legs and delivering a blow to the guard, who was hit in the back and thrown to the ground as he tried to escape.
The man was able to escape the bear and call 911. He was taken to a hospital for treatment of his back and was released from the hospital the next day.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife believes the bear entered the hotel through a set of doors leading to the courtyard. After his encounter with a person in the kitchen, he preferred to leave the area.
Wildlife officials were able to identify the animal based on a white spot on its fur. The bear was found and euthanized on Wednesday.
“Although it is common to see bears in Aspen, the white spot on the bear’s torso helped distinguish it from other bears in the area,” authorities said in a statement, noting that wildlife officials were seeing other bears had discovered one of the people responsible for the attack near Aspen before they found him.
The organization reminded the public to be vigilant, especially at this time of year when bears eat whatever they can find to build up fat reserves for the winter.