ABC affiliate station WMUR reported that the bear, one of nearly 5,000 black bears in New Hampshire, somehow got stuck inside Melissa Champney’s mudroom and remained trapped there for about 45 minutes.

According to New Hampshire Fish and Game, anyone who finds themselves in the presence of a black bear is encouraged to keep their distance.

“Make it aware of your presence by clapping, talking, singing or making other sounds,” officials said on a webpage where they addressed some of the most frequently asked questions.

A bear may rush someone who is too close, and if this were to happen, the individual should slowly back away while keeping eye contact and speaking in a low voice.

“These actions will help appease the bear and show that you are not weak, but, at the same time, not a threat to the bear,” officials said. A black bear may also “enforce dominance” by charging and snapping its teeth. They are capable of killing a person, but the agency said this is a very rare occurrence.

Champney told the outlet that the bear may have gotten inside because they occasionally leave the door to the mudroom open to allow their cats to come and go.

“I looked out the dining room window and there was a really big bear stuck on the porch—eating the porch, as a matter of fact,” she said.

Because the bear had nowhere to go, it ultimately began to claw the room apart prompting Champney’s husband to open the porch door, freeing the bear.

Andrew Timmins, the bear project biologist for New Hampshire Fish and Game, told Newsweek it is uncommon for bears to enter homes.

On average, he said there are between two to four reports of a bear that made it inside of a home, but last year, there were no reports.

He said the agency handles between 700 and 800 bear conflicts each year, though these conflicts can vary from a person being concerned about a bear to a bear breaking into a garbage can.

Bears have become more active at this point of the year because hibernation has come to an end. Timmins said bears will be active by early April, particularly male bears and female bears without cubs.

As the bears come out of hibernation in search of food, Timmins said there are not many options for them due to the weather and the lack of growth.

For that reason, they may turn to human food.

Many bears are attracted to homes, cars and campsites because of the smell of food, and officials with New Hampshire Fish and Game have reminded people that they should not feed them.

The organization also urged individuals to think about how they dispose of their food. A bear getting access to human food, whether intentionally or unintentionally, can lead to property damage or increased interactions between bears and humans.

“Purposeful or inadvertent feeding that creates the likelihood of human injury or property damage can result in your being issued a fine, if the attractant is not removed following a request to do so from a conservation officer,” officials with the agency said.

Timmins said interactions with bears are always food-driven.

“It’s a bear following its nose,” he explained.

Newsweek reached out to Champney for further comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.

Black bears have had a few interactions with humans, including one with a man who was napping by his pool in Massachusetts, while another made itself at home under a Connecticut couple’s decking. A bear was also caught on security footage climbing into a pool in California, as previously reported by Newsweek.

Updated 03/30/2022, 1:48 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with comments from Andrew Timmins and additional information.