Bear Attacks Wheelchair-using Pensioner in Her Own Home

A 71-year-old wheelchair user was attacked by a bear who broke into her house in the middle of the night—and the woman lived to tell the tale, local media has reported.

Apryl Rogers woke up at the sound of movement in the kitchen of her New Hampshire home, believing someone had broken in. It was only when she followed the noises that she discovered the intruder was a hungry bear. Rogers' daughter, Stacey Murray, related the story to a local CBS-affiliate on Wednesday.

Rogers yelled at the bear to get out, but the enraged animal attacked her, clawing her face. Rogers was able to "somehow, some way," call authorities, who arrived on the scene as the bear fled. The authorities rushed Rogers to hospital.

"She was yelling at the bear to get out," Murray said, adding that her mother's ability to dial 911 after the injuries she sustained was a "miracle" in itself. The call came in at around 1:15 a.m. and Rogers entered surgery some nine hours later, The New Hampshire Union Leader reported.

"Her injuries are all facial injuries. She has nothing else because it swiped her a couple times. There's a possibility she's going to lose an eye," Murray added. Rogers also sustained several fractures to her neck and head, likely from the strength of the blow and subsequent fall.

Rogers spent more than six hours in surgery and is expected to make a full recovery. The bear, which possibly came in through a side door according to Murray, left Rogers' home in Grafton quite damaged as well.

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The bear clawed at the doors and walls, while forcefully emptying the kitchen cabinets. "This was just a complete mess," Murray said. "Even the door to the oven was open. There's bear feces everywhere. There's blood all over the place, and yeah, it was like a war happened."

"I mean, having bears in the area is one thing, but for it to actually come in a house is another thing," Murray said.

The bear was likely looking for food, according to State Fish and Game officials, who say that an attack of this nature is highly unusual. "Even though she was in her own home, she ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time with this bear in there," said Major Jim Juneau. New Hampshire wildlife authorities are currently trying to track the bear's movements after it fled the scene ti trap it. Rainfall has washed off the scent of the bear, meaning that so far authorities have been unable to track it using sniffing dogs, local broadcaster WMUR9 reported.

The bear appears to have wandered into the house and gotten "stuck," Sergeant Tom Dakai of the Fish and Game Department said. Whether or not to euthanize the bear will be something the department's leadership will decide. Due to the unsuccessful efforts to find any trace of the bear and catch it, authorities have set up a trap at the property, in case the bear returns.