A girl stated she escaped a bear assault in Vermont over the weekend after her Jack Russell terrier intervened, state wildlife authorities stated Monday. The 61-year-old girl, who was bitten on the leg however is anticipated to outlive, credited her canine with distracting the bear and permitting them to flee.
The girl, recognized as Susan Lee, advised authorities that she was strolling on a path in Strafford together with her terrier and labradoodle when she heard a "loud noise" and noticed a bear working at her, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Division stated. Lee stated she then tripped over a stone wall and the bear climbed on high of her, biting her leg.
Lee stated her terrier then started barking on the bear, which appeared to grow to be distracted and stopped attacking her, in response to the assertion. She stated she and her canine had been then capable of escape again down the path.
As soon as she returned residence, she was capable of name 911 and textual content a neighbor who introduced her to the hospital. She was handled for non-life threatening accidents, together with the chew and a number of other scratches between two and 9 inches lengthy on each side of her physique.
Authorities who visited the scene of the assault concluded that the bear was seemingly a mom together with her cubs who was stunned by Lee and her canine. Officers couldn't find the bear.
Vermont is estimated to have someplace between 4,500 and 6,000 bears, in response to a 2019 report from the Fish & Wildlife Division. However division bear biologist Jaclyn Comeau emphasised within the assertion Monday that bear assaults are "extraordinarily uncommon in Vermont," noting that there are solely three different documented situations of such assaults within the state.
She did warning, nevertheless, that black bears are touring in household models throughout this a part of the 12 months and that moms are extraordinarily protecting of their cubs. If an individual is confronted by a black bear, she stated, they need to keep calm and retreat slowly — however combat again in the event that they're attacked.