BornToHuntAndFish
Senior Member
Sounds like New Jersey needs to add more bear hunting to their big game wildlife management practices. Maybe this Mama bear had her 3 cubs in the area & was just furiously trying to protect them.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/authorities_search_for_bear_th.html
Authorities search for bear that charged at hiker, mauled dog in Ringwood park
Friday, June 25, 2010
RINGWOOD — New Jersey wildlife authorities set up traps today to catch a female bear responsible for knocking down a West Milford man and seriously mauling his dog on a Ringwood State Park hiking trail Thursday morning.
The man was not seriously injured, but his dog was hospitalized after the incident that unfolded at about 9:30 a.m. on a trial at the west end of the 4,044-acre state park. The man, who was not identified by authorities, was walking his dog at the time, said Pat Carr, a supervising biologist for the state Division of Fish and Wildlife.
"We don’t have any explanation now why they got into this interaction. We have reports of bears using that trail. There may be berries ripening along that trial. This female has been seen there before," he said.
State Park Police reports, said Carr, indicate the hiker came upon the bear as he was walking down the trail and that the bear suddenly charged, knocking the man over.
"The man kicked the bear off him. The dog got involved and the bear mauled the dog," he added.
The hiker suffered scratches and bruises, but bear did not appear to have inflicted any wound with its claws or teeth. His dog, although injured, is expected to survive.
The bear is a female bruin with three cubs, and it has been previously seen in the area, said Carr. The state has placed traps and plans to euthanized the bear if it is caught because it attacked a human, he said. The cubs, born in January, will be evaluated by biologists to determine if they are big enough to survive on their own and will not need to be brought to a rehabilitation shelter.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/06/authorities_search_for_bear_th.html
Authorities search for bear that charged at hiker, mauled dog in Ringwood park
Friday, June 25, 2010
RINGWOOD — New Jersey wildlife authorities set up traps today to catch a female bear responsible for knocking down a West Milford man and seriously mauling his dog on a Ringwood State Park hiking trail Thursday morning.
The man was not seriously injured, but his dog was hospitalized after the incident that unfolded at about 9:30 a.m. on a trial at the west end of the 4,044-acre state park. The man, who was not identified by authorities, was walking his dog at the time, said Pat Carr, a supervising biologist for the state Division of Fish and Wildlife.
"We don’t have any explanation now why they got into this interaction. We have reports of bears using that trail. There may be berries ripening along that trial. This female has been seen there before," he said.
State Park Police reports, said Carr, indicate the hiker came upon the bear as he was walking down the trail and that the bear suddenly charged, knocking the man over.
"The man kicked the bear off him. The dog got involved and the bear mauled the dog," he added.
The hiker suffered scratches and bruises, but bear did not appear to have inflicted any wound with its claws or teeth. His dog, although injured, is expected to survive.
The bear is a female bruin with three cubs, and it has been previously seen in the area, said Carr. The state has placed traps and plans to euthanized the bear if it is caught because it attacked a human, he said. The cubs, born in January, will be evaluated by biologists to determine if they are big enough to survive on their own and will not need to be brought to a rehabilitation shelter.
