Couple fight off bear with kitchen knife after it charges through window of their home

After a struggle in which both husband and wife were injured, the man managed to grab a firearm and shoot the bear dead

A couple in Wisconsin fought a bear with a kitchen knife after the adult female animal charged through a window of their home and attacked them.

The bear was ultimately shot dead by the husband after a struggle in which both husband and wife were injured.

The incident took place at 11pm on Friday in north-central Wisconsin’s Medford city, when the couple spotted a bear eating from their bird feeder, Taylor county sheriff’s office said.

The couple, who were in the house with their two children, opened the window and yelled at the animal to try and scare it off.

“The bear immediately turned and charged at the house, breaking through the window and into the house and immediately attacked,” the sheriff’s office said.

As the couple tried to fend off the attack, one of them grabbed a kitchen knife at one point and stabbed the bear, authorities said.

Eventually, the husband was able to get hold of a firearm and shoot the animal dead.

The couple survived the attack with several bites and injuries for which they were treated at hospital.

The bear was identified as an adult female whose cub was seen running away as the bear charged the house, the sheriff’s office said. The species of bear involved was not named by officials.

The couple’s children were asleep in their bedrooms at the time of the attack and were unharmed, the police added.

The incident is the latest incident of human-animal conflict in the US.

In February, shoot at sight orders were given for a black bear who became habituated to breaking into homes and feeding out of garbage in the South Lake Tahoe area of California.

Authorities had warned residents to avoid involuntarily luring wild animals into residential areas by improperly keeping garbage.

Wildlife agencies and activists have long been urging people to “bear proof” their homes and their garbage bins to keep the animals away, as they are often attracted to residential areas in search of easy food options.