Bear sneaks up behind boy eating popcorn in Colorado backyard

Sept. 3 (UPI) -- A Colorado family had a backyard scare when a snack-seeking black bear came within inches of a boy munching on popcorn.

Rachel and Rob Schmela shared security camera footage of their son, Evan, eating kettle corn in the backyard of a relative's Aspen home when the bear comes up behind him.

The bear came within about a foot of Evan's head before he realized there was an animal behind him.

"I was like, frozen for a couple of seconds, I didn't know what to do," Rachel Schmela told KDVR-TV. "Luckily, Rob and his brother kind of jumped into action sooner than I did and they knew just to make some loud noise and that would scare the bear."

She said Evan was uninjured by the encounter.

The family said bears are a frequent sight in the area after dark, but it was the first time they had seen one during daylight hours.

A Connecticut family had a similar caught-on-camera encounter last month in the driveway of their Simsbury home.

Kristin Lee said she was spending time outside with family members, including her 9-year-old son and 2-year-old nephew.

Security camera footage shows the young boys alert the adults to the presence of a bear that came walking around the house. The video shows the family quickly flee indoors.

Lee said no one was injured.