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Peter Rizzuto,
77, told The Aspen Times he thought at first the creature was a
large dog. He said last week's encounter was very brief, and the
skin on his ankle was not broken.
Rizzuto contacted the Colorado Parks and Wildlife department the
following day, but then declined to place a bear trap in his
backyard in the ski resort of Snowmass, near Aspen.
"I'm worried it might trap the wrong bear," Rizzuto said.
A parks and wildlife spokesman, Mike Porras, told the newspaper
that the bear had not returned since last Wednesday's incident,
but it was likely that it would.
"If it is walking up to humans and doing this, it would not be a
big surprise if it did it again," Porras said.
Colorado is home to about 12,000 black bears. Attacks on people
are rare, but typically happen when hungry bears lose their fear
of humans, wildlife authorities say.
Porras said Rizzuto's small yard is open, and that children come
and go in the area. He said the department might lay a trap on a
nearby public area if one is available.
"No one wants to put a bear down," Porras said. "But when a bear
is not afraid of humans or is approaching humans, that is a
cause for concern."
(Reporting by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Lisa Lambert)
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