Washington wildlife agents kill black bear that hurt woman
Oct 24, 2022, 6:24 AM | Updated: 6:56 am
A Black bear (Ursus americanus) is looking for salmon along the shore of Lake Crescent in Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska, USA. (Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
(Photo by Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Wildlife authorities in Washington state killed a black bear Saturday after it charged and injured a woman near a downtown park in the Bavarian-styled town of Leavenworth.
The woman had let out her dog at around 7 a.m. when an adult female bear charged her, the Department of Fish and Wildlife said. She suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was being treated at a hospital.
Wildlife officers using a Karelian bear dog found and killed a sow later that morning. They captured two cubs, about 9 months old, and brought them to a wildlife rehabilitation facility.
Leavenworth is on the east side of the Cascade Mountains in central Washington. The property where the woman was attacked is adjacent to Enchantment Park, a park near downtown Leavenworth with ball fields and walking trails.
The state’s only recorded fatal black bear attack on a person was reported in 1974. Since 1970, state authorities have recorded 19 instances where black bears have injured people, the department said.
