Wisconsin woman released from hospital nearly 2 weeks after bear attack
A western Wisconsin woman is out of the hospital after a bear attacked her earlier this month.
The 69-year-old woman was attacked outside her home near Cumberland on July 12. She was able to call 911 and was taken to a local hospital for treatment with severe injuries.
Police say they shot at the bear, but it got away.
Officials began to search for the bear shortly after the incident, but were unable to find it. They did, however, find a cub in a tree. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said the bear that attacked may have been the cub's mother, but it is unknown why the attack occurred.
Several bear traps have been set around the area. Once it is captured, the DNR plans to euthanize it and "assess its condition."
"Unfortunately, black bears displaying aggressive behavior are an elevated risk for repeating the behavior," the DNR said in a written release.
The Wisconsin DNR estimates there are 24,000 bears in the state. They are generally not aggressive and tend to avoid humans as much as possible. However, bears can sometimes be aggressive if cubs are present.
Neighbors told WCCO they have seen more bears passing through the area this year than usual.
Andy Tri, the bear project leader for the Minnesota DNR, says the state's bear population has been moving further south and further west in recent years. The Minnesota DNR says it has received reports of black bears as far south as Jackson County, near the Iowa border.
There are no reports of deaths resulting from encounters with wild black bears in Wisconsin, according to the state's DNR.
