A black bear killed and part-ate a woman in Colorado - just the fourth fatal mauling since records began 60 years ago

• Colorado wildlife authorities hunted down and shot dead a bear and two cubs on Friday.
• Earlier that day, a woman was found dead and part eaten near her home in Durango.
• It is just the fourth fatal black bear attack in the state since 1960.

A black bear killed a Colorado woman on Friday in what is just the fourth fatal mauling since records began 60 years ago.

The 39-year-old woman, who has not been named, was found by her boyfriend on a trail near the home they shared in Durango, a town near the New Mexico border, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) wrote in a statement.

The boyfriend told deputies from the La Plata County Sheriff's office that he returned home at 8:30 p.m to no sign of his girlfriend but that their two dogs were outside the house, the CPW said.

The man proceeded to search for her on a well-trodden footpath they used for dog walking, the CPW said, whereupon he found her body at around 9:30 p.m.

The CPW service said in their statement that they found an "abundance of bear scat and hair at the scene" as well as "signs of consumption on the body" but that an autopsy of the victim was still pending.

Bears responsible for fatal attacks are often tracked down and killed.

The CPW said that a dog team was dispatched from the US Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services who searched the area and located a female black bear and her two offspring, who were quickly shot"out of an abundance of caution," officials said, reported the Guardian.

"Bear attacks are extremely rare," Cory Chick, southwest region manager at the CPW, said in the statement.

"This is a tragic event and a sad reminder that bears are wild and potentially dangerous. Out of an abundance of caution, the bears were removed for public safety."

While fatalities from black bear attacks in Colorado are extremely rare, they are not unheard of.

• In July 1971, a bear killed a honeymooning couple near Grand Lake, Grand County, after it entered their tent.
• In August 1993 a bear broke into a camper van near Cotopaxi and killed the occupant.
• In August 2009 a black bear killed and ate parts of a 74-year-old woman at her home near Ouray, Ouray County.

The CPW publishes guidance for those in Colorado who live near its estimated 19,000 black bears.

"Black bears are curious, intelligent, and very resourceful; they will explore all possible food sources. If they find food near homes, camp​grounds, vehicles, or communities, they'll come back for more," they wrote.