Bear breaks through house window, attacking couple. They struck back with kitchen knife, gun

A Wisconsin couple said they were forced to kill a black bear after it jumped through a window and attempted to attack them them in their kitchen, according to the Taylor County Sheriff's Office in Medford. 

© Robert Winkler, Getty Images/iStockphoto A black bear in tall grass

The husband and wife, both unnamed by authorities, used a kitchen knife before before the husband shot and killed the animal in their kitchen. The bear was first eating from the family's bird feeder. 

"The bear immediately turned and charged at the house, breaking through the window and into the house and immediately attacked," the Taylor County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. 

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The couple was injured in the fight, sustaining several bite marks, while their young children remained asleep and unharmed in their bedrooms, authorities noted.

According to the Taylor County Sheriff's Office, the black bear was an adult female and a cub was seen running off as the bear ventured toward the family's home. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources obtained the bear's remains for testing. The department says black bears rarely attack humans.

Wisconsin's black bear population has grown in recent years, according to research. A 1989 study found about 9,000 bears, whereas most recent data supports a population somewhere near 24,000 bears. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bear breaks through house window, attacking couple. They struck back with kitchen knife, gun