The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hunting a black bear after it attacked a woman over the weekend.
According to a press release by the DNR, the bear attacked 69-year-old Karen Frye in Baron County on Saturday. She was outside her rural home near Comstock. Events leading up to the attack remain unclear, but a sow and her cub are reportedly involved. Frye’s family told authorities that the animal “exhibited a sustained series of aggressive behaviors” towards the victim. The woman is in a stable condition after the attack and is in the hospital.
The press release reveals that if a bear demonstrates aggressive behavior toward people, it’s at a higher risk of doing so again. DNR explains that its number one priority is always public safety. They plan to capture and “humanely euthanize” the bear involved in the attack.
Authorities Explain Why The Black Bear May Be Aggressive
The DNR explains that black bears may display aggressive behavior when surprised or cornered. It can also happen when food or cubs are involved. In either case, the department stresses that “true aggressive behavior is both rare and distinctive from defensive behavior.”
Authorities have set several bear traps around the area, hoping for a live capture. The department says that if they catch the aggressive sow, she will be euthanized. Experts will then perform a rabies check to see if it or another illness contributed to the behavior. If they catch the cub, authorities say they will release it into the wild. “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,” the DNR claims.
The traps have already captured a bear, albeit the wrong one. The report explains that a trap caught a male black bear, which was promptly released. Randy Johnson, a large carnivore specialist for the DNR, stated, “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.” He added, “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.”