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A rabid black bear has been shot while trying to steal an air conditioning unit from a home.
The beast was engaged in a tug of war for the unit with a terrified American housewife when her husband blasted it with a shotgun, the Associated Press reports.
"I finally yelled at my husband, because I couldn't hold on to that air conditioner much longer," Charlotte Stanton told the agency.
"It seemed like forever, but I'm sure it was just seconds."
The 65kg bear was hit with a load of buckshot, and lay bleeding in the front yard of the house in Maryland, USA before a wildlife official arrived to despatch it.
It is the first time that a bear with rabies has been found in Maryland, although state wildlife officials say cases have been reported in Canada and Pennsylvania.
The whole Stanton family will be given rabies shots because of their exposure to the bear's blood and saliva.
Charlotte Stanton told AP that she will not hesitate running to the house and getting a gun next time a bear comes into her yard.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
