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 MESA COUNTY, Colo. — A 5-year-old Colorado girl is in good condition after she was attacked by a black bear outside her home. 
 
 The attack happened early Sunday near Grand Junction, about 240 miles west of Denver. 
 
 The girl's mother told state wildlife officers that her daughter went outside around 2:30 a.m. to investigate noises she thought might be coming from her dog. The mother said she then heard screaming and went out to find her daughter being dragged by a large black bear. She says the bear dropped the girl after she began screaming at the animal. 
 
 “She came out … she yelled at the animal,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife spokesman Mike Porras said. “She screamed at it, and by doing so, she probably saved her little girl’s life.” 
 
 Porras said the girl suffered serious injuries and was taken to St. Mary's Hospital. 
 
 KDVR reports the bear bit the girl multiple times on her backside. She was listed in good condition late Sunday. 
 
 “Fortunately she had no life-threatening injuries,” Pediatric surgeon Dr. Charles Breaux of St. Mary’s Medical Center said. “No injuries to her brain or chest organs or abdominal organs and no fractures.” 
 
 Doctors cleaned and repaired the wounds — requiring more 77 stitches. 
 
 Doctors will monitor the girl to ensure she doesn’t have rabies. 
 
 Federal and state wildlife officers are using traps in an effort to capture the bear that is now considered dangerous. 
 
 “The goal is to trap the bear, and if we do, we are going to put that bear down,” Porras explained. 
 
 While bear attacks on humans are rare, Porras said there is growing concern. ||||| A 5-year-old girl was bitten and nearly dragged into the woods by a bear in Colorado early Sunday before her screaming mother spooked the animal and caused it to release the child. 
 
 The child, identified by her father as Kimberly Cyr, had gone outside of her home in East Orchard Mesa in the predawn hours to investigate noises she believed were coming from a dog, her mother told authorities. 
 
 The mother heard screams about 2:30 a.m. outside her home, which is above the Colorado River Corridor in Grand Junction, and went outside to investigate, according to a news release by Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). 
 
 That's when she saw a large black bear dragging Kimberly, according to the release. The mother screamed at the bear, which then let her daughter go, the release said. 
 
 Kimberly was initially rushed to St. Mary's Medical Center with serious injuries, but was later upgraded to fair condition, according to CPW. 
 
 The girl underwent a nearly three-hour surgery to repair soft tissue injuries caused by the bear's teeth, according to Dr. Charles Breaux, the pediatric surgeon at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Grand Junction, Colorado. She has "hundreds" of stitches, but no fractures, Breaux said. 
 
 Duane Cyr, Kimberly’s father, told ABC News that Kimberly was with her mother in the hospital and would be fine. 
 
 Breaux said Kimberly has been the "calmest person in the room" all day. 
 
 ABC News 
 
 Rebecca Ferrell, the public information officer for CPW, told ABC News that traps had been set for the bear. If the bear is captured, it will be put down and a necropsy will be done to determine what happened, she said. 
 
 Ferrell also said CPW and the U.S. Department of Agriculture were using hounds to locate the bear; the agencies suspended the search, however, because of the warm weather. 
 
 "They were here from 3 this morning until just an hour ago," neighbor Kathy Harris told ABC News Sunday afternoon. "And they had dogs out here tracking it, but they didn't pick up a scent, which is kind of odd I think because they had those dogs out here probably within a half hour [of the attack], evidently. That's what they said. But they didn't pick no scent up." 
 
 Ferrell told ABC News that Kimberly surprised the bear, perhaps causing the bear to be frightened. 
 
 "It's 2:30 in the morning, they're not expecting people to be out and about" at that time, Ferrell said. 
 
 "We've seen their tracks. They go through at night usually," neighbor Robert Helmer said. "And there's been some bears sighted in the daytime here. ... But usually they come around after dark." 
 
 Ferrell also told ABC News interactions between humans and bears in Colorado are "extremely rare." 
 
 She said anyone who encounters bears should stay calm and let them know people are there. 
 
 ABC News 
 
 Helmer, who owns a home down the road from the Cyrs, said a bear had been attacking his neighbor's chickens recently. 
 
 "He had been coming up this way and killing chickens at my neighbor just across the driveway over here, so hes been hanging around this area," Helmer said. "The D Road back there [where the Cyrs live] is real close to the river. There is a big bluff on the side of the river where they hibernate and the last few years we've had resident bears hibernating there and staying year round." 
 
 "Do not ever run from a bear, don't try and climb a tree, because a bear can do both of those things much faster than we can," Ferrell said. 
 
 Ferrell also said bears are always looking to eat, and people should be careful about where they keep garbage, bird feeders or pet food. 
 
 "We want to make sure that you're doing everything you can when you're living and recreating in bear country to minimize their interactions to come find food near you," Ferrell said. 
 
 As of Sunday evening, officials said they'd yet to capture the bear, but neighbors said there isn't too much wilderness to hide in. 
 
 "If they don't get him today, they'll get him tonight," Helmer said Sunday of trapping the bear. "There's too many people watching him now." ||||| Colorado Parks and Wildlife is investigating a bear attack on a child in East Orchard Mesa. 
 
 The girl's father, Duane Cyr, identified her as Kimberly Cyr, 5. He said Kimberly will be "fine" after the attack happened at their D Road home around 2:30 a.m. Sunday. 
 
 Her mother told CPW officers she heard screaming and witnessed a large black bear dragging her daughter when she went to investigate. 
 
 She told CPW officers the bear dropped the girl after she began screaming at the animal. The woman told authorities that Kimberly had gone outside to investigate noises in the yard she may have thought was her dog. 
 
 The five-year-old was taken to St. Mary's Hospital with serious injuries, according to CPW. Mike Porras of CPW said later Sunday morning her condition was upgraded to fair condition. 
 
 Doctors at St. Mary's said Sunday night that Kimberly received more than six dozen stitches, but she's in good spirits. They said her recovery could take several weeks. 
 
 Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers are trying to find the bear with the help of federal wildlife services personnel. They said in their statement that a heavy law enforcement presence will be seen throughout the area as they search for the bear. 
 
 The bear had yet to be captured as of Sunday night. If it is captured, CPW said the bear will be put down. 
 
 CPW is asking everyone to secure trash, keep pet food inside and immediately report any bear sightings to them.
– A 5-year-old girl in Colorado was seriously injured after going outside in the middle of the night to investigate noises she thought were coming from her dog and being attacked by a bear. Kimberly Cyr's father tells NBC 11 that the Grand Junction girl will be "fine" after the attack at around 2:30am Sunday. Her mother says that after she heard screaming, she went outside to see a black bear dragging the girl away. The mother says the bear dropped her daughter after she started screaming at it. Kimberly, whose condition was upgraded from serious to fair Sunday afternoon, needed 77 stitches but suffered no life-threatening injuries, a pediatric surgeon at St. Mary’s Medical Center tells Q13 Fox. Colorado Parks and Wildlife public information officer Rebecca Ferrell tells ABC that traps have been set for the bear. She says that if it is captured, it will be euthanized and a necropsy will be carried out to determine what happened. Ferrell says Kimberly may have startled the bear, since the animals are "not expecting people to be up and about" at that time of night. Ferrell says bear encounters in Colorado are unusual, but anyone who does encounter one should stay calm and make it aware that there are people near it. "Do not ever run from a bear, don't try and climb a tree, because a bear can do both of those things much faster than we can,” she says.