PAYSON, Ariz. - A bear was euthanized after aggresively trying to break into a Payson home, according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department. It was the third bear to be put down this week.
Joseph Stapp was asleep Tuesday evening when a large crash on the porch of the home he is building woke him up. When he went to the door to see what was going on, he said he came face to face with a bear.
"He was pushing on the door, and I was pushing back. I was not scared, but I couldn't shoo him," Stapp told wildlife officers.
AZGFD said it was the third day in a row the bear had visited, causing property damage on the front and back porches.
A neighbor was able to scare the bear off temporarily on Tuesday night by throwing rocks, but the bear returned later that night and again on Wednesday, AZGFD said.
Stapp told Game and Fish officials that the bear had gotten into a garbage can containing dog food several times earlier in the week, so he secured the can inside his home.
When the bear returned, it tried to enter, and Stapp called 911.
Wildlife officers live-trapped the adult male bear and euthanized it because of its aggressive behavior and lack of fear toward humans.
AZGFD says drought conditions throughout the state may have something to do with the increase in bear activity.