A 72-year-old woman bravely showed a hungry bear and its cub their way out of her kitchen. The unidentified woman who apparently surprised the bear, yelled and clapped to scare it off, officials said.

The bear reportedly entered the house of the women and made its way into the kitchen. As the woman entered the kitchen she found the grisly standing just six feet away from her. The bear hissed at the woman, struck her on her chest and arm, giving her minor scratches, Vail police Sgt. Dan Torgerson told the AP.

Torgerson said the bear hissed again and then left through a side door.

"If the bear was trying to hurt her, it very easily could have," he said. "I think it was just surprised."

The woman then found a cub in her house and she pushed it out the door, Torgerson said.

Authorities suspect that it may have been the same animal involved in another break-in.

Randy Hampton, a spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, said the bear has learned how to get food from humans and has taught its cub. If captured, he said the bear would be euthanized and its cub euthanized or relocated.

However, the owners of the homes have refused to let wildlife officials set traps for bears.