Black bear is shot and killed after breaking into Montana home in the middle of the night: ‘That was a hell of a 3am wake up call’
- Thomas Bolkcom, 27, had to put down the ten-year-old black bear after finding him standing in his living room in the early hours of Thursday morning
- Bolkcom had been woken up by his dog barking furiously at the beast at his home in Luther, Montana
- Her fiancé, Seeley Oblander, said the episode was ‘quite the wake-up call’
A black bear was shot and killed after breaking into a Montana home in the middle of the night through a screened window.
Thomas Bolkcom, 27, had to put down the wild animal after it broke into his home in the rural community of Luther, Montana on Thursday night.
After staying up late the night before with his fiancée Seeley Oblander, the two had been woken around 3am with their dog Maizey barking furiously.
Bolkcom, who works as a commercial painter and elk hunter, went to investigate and found a black bear standing in his living room.
After quickly grabbing his handgun, Bolkcom managed to shoot the bear before it fled into another room, where he killed it.
Bolkcom had to put the animal down after it broke into its Montana home in the early hours of Thursday morning
Bolkcom, left, her fiancé Seeley Oblander, the two had been woken around 3am with their dog Maizey barking furiously at the bear
The couple had risen late the previous night to prepare to travel to Arizona where Oblander had planned a bachelorette party with his friends.
They later discovered that the bear had entered their house through a screened window.
She says: ‘I never thought there would be a bear in our house, so it was quite a wake up call at three in the morning.
“I just stayed downstairs with the dogs, trying to keep them out and let Tom deal with them. He did a great job.’
The couple and Bolkcom’s brother dragged the bear outside and then called their two fathers, who came to the house to meet a game warden so the others could catch their morning flight.
Oblander told the Billings Gazette: ‘We wanted him out of our house, the bear smelled terrible and he really made a mess.’
The keeper told them the bear was about ten years old and weighed between 250 and 300 pounds.
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks spokeswoman Chrissy Webb said the shooting was justified in self-defense.
The keeper told them the bear was around ten years old and weighed around 250-300 pounds
The bear had managed to enter their home through a screened window, pictured here
Black bears are said to frequent the area and have been spotted prowling the neighborhood in recent weeks
According to Webb, black bears have frequented the area and for the past few weeks one has been prowling the neighborhood, taking food from garbage cans.
Although the home that was broken into did not contain unsecured food or trash, Webb said the bear likely grew accustomed to associating humans with food, creating a dangerous situation for local residents and the animal.
Webb continued: ‘It’s quite abnormal behavior to have a bear enter a house.
“This large male black bear ended up dying due to improperly stocked attractants in the community.”
DailyMail.com contacted the couple for comment but did not immediately respond.
