Bear attack: N.Y. man uses stick to save his dog from a bear
An upstate New York man and his dog were injured by a bear in a state park in the Adirondacks. The man says he hit the bear with a stick and chased it off.
A black bear stands in a wooded area in Newton, New Jersey, July 12, 2015. New Jersey, the U.S. State most densely populated by humans, is also thick with black bears, and wildlife officials are set to vote on August 11, 2015 on a plan to expand hunting season months after the state's first fatal attack.
REUTERS/Barbara Goldberg
Stratford, N.Y.
Officials say a 55-year-old upstate New York man and his dog were injured by a bear in a state park in the Adirondacks before he chased the animal off with a stick.
State environmental officials say the attack was Tuesday evening in the Ferris Lake Wild Forest in the Fulton County town of Stratford.
Forest rangers say the dog was off leash when it encountered the bear. The bear attacked the dog and its owner when the man intervened to separate the animals.
Rangers say the man chased the bear off by hitting it on the nose with a stick.
The man and dog suffered bites and scratches. The injuries aren't considered life-threatening.
State officials were unable to locate the bear and believe it has left the area.
The N.Y. Department of Environmental Conservation offers the following advice if you encounter a bear:
Never approach, surround or corner a bear: Bears aggressively defend themselves when they feel threatened.
Be especially cautious around cubs as mother bears are very protective.·
Never run from a bear: stay calm, speak in a loud and calm voice, slowly back away and leave the area.·
Use noise to scare away bears from your campsite: yell, clap or bang pots immediately upon sighting a bear near your campsite.·
Do not throw your backpack or food bag at an approaching bear: Doing so will only encourage bears to approach and “bully” people to get food.
Meanwhile, Yellowstone National Park officials say preliminary autopsy results confirm that a hiker whose body was found last week was killed by a grizzly bear.
Spokeswoman Amy Bartlett said Wednesday the results rule out the possibility that 63-year-old Lance Crosby of Billings died of a medical issue before the bear came upon him.
Crosby was hiking without bear spray when he was attacked. His body was discovered Friday partially eaten and hidden by animals about a half-mile from the nearest trail.
Park officials captured a female grizzly bear and two cubs near the site of the attack.
Bartlett says DNA test results are expected Wednesday or Thursday to determine whether the adult bear was the attacker.
If so, park officials have said the female will be euthanized.