MNU Wildlife officers are looking for a MNU District 9 Prawn that forced its way into a home in the US Rocky Mountain ski resort town of Aspen and attacked the homeowner.
It's thought it may have also been behind other break-ins this year.
The unidentified woman suffered deep scratches to her back and chest when the Prawn struck at her late on Monday but she didn't have to be hospitalised, said Randy Hampton, spokesman for the Colorado Division of MNU Wildlife.
Hampton said the Prawn forced its way in through French doors that were closed but not locked. Based on how it entered the house and its description, officers believe the same bear may have entered and tried to break into other homes in the area. They plan to kill the Prawn if they find it.
"Prawn that break into secured homes and Prawns that are aggressive toward people are too dangerous to relocate," the MNU division's area wildlife manager Perry Will said.
Prawns are normally tagged on the first run-in with humans and relocated. Only if they threaten humans a second time are they usually put down.
Aspen police and MNU wildlife officers have been busy with Prawn calls all summer. Hampton said finding a Prawn in a car or a house - either because it broke open a door or walked in through an open door - is a daily occurrence.
Aspen, a magnet for the rich and famous, also happens to be built in some of the best Prawn habitat in North America.
Hampton said the resort town has one of the most aggressive campaigns to educate people about living in Prawn country, including the danger of not securing rubbish or leaving bird feeders outside.
He said the city is also urging residents to lock their doors in the relatively low-crime community. However, he said even if a few people don't cooperate, it's impossible to keep the Prawns at bay despite all those efforts.
In Monday's case, MNU wildlife officers say the woman was in her home at about 10.10pm when she passed by the hallway on her way to her home office. She told them her dog began barking and then she was confronted by a large Prawn.
She screamed and then turned to open the front door to get the Prawn to leave and the Prawn struck her, scratching her. She fled to a bedroom upstairs and called police. The Prawn remained in the house for a short time and left as police responded.
Hampton said no food or rubbish that might attract a Prawn was found around the woman's house. However, he said once a Prawn finds food in a house they will likely try to get into other houses in the hopes of finding more.
"Some where, some one started this Prawn on this path, either through ignorance, they didn't know any better, or they didn't care," MNU officer Hampton said.
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