A 69-year-old woman in Wisconsin is lucky to be alive after a black bear attacked her outside of her home. The startling incident happened on July 12 near Comstock. 69-year-old Karen Frye called for help after a black bear attacked her in her yard.
First responders arrived at the scene and transported her to a local hospital. They later transported her to a new hospital. According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, she's now in stable condition.
According to DNR, they are on the hunt for the black bear involved. Intitial search revealed a cub in a tree near the home. Authorities theorize that it was a mother bear that attacked Karen. They plan to find and euthanize the animal using bear traps. They want to study the animal to figure out why it attacked the woman.
Black Bear Attacks Woman
"Humane euthanasia is not always the standard practice in human/bear conflicts. Our actions in these types of situations are very carefully determined based upon the totality of the known evidence of each event," said DNR Large Carnivore Specialist Randy Johnson.
Initial investigations "suggest the bear exhibited a sustained series of aggressive behaviors towards the victim," a representative from DNR wrote in the statement.
"Although we're still working to piece together every element of what transpired in this incident, we know enough to warrant attempting to live-trap at the location of the incident and humanely euthanize this bear if captured," Johnson added.
"By this time of year, cubs are able to survive on their own, and this cub will likely have a better opportunity to thrive in the wild without human intervention," DNR said in the statement.
It's not the first time something like this has happened. In California last summer, a black bear stalked and killed a 71-year-old woman.
"Since early May, the sheriff's office has been inundated with daily reports from distressed homeowners and business owners regarding bears breaking into residences and vehicles, creating havoc and endangering local residents," the sheriff's office said at the time.
"Given the escalating danger posed by the bear's behavior and the imminent threat it presented to residents, deputies were left with no choice but to euthanize the bear in the interest of public safety."
