Woman injured, dog killed in bear attack
By JIM RUNKLE — jrunkle@lockhaven.comMONTOURSVILLE — A Lycoming County woman was injured and her dog was killed when a bear attacked them about 50 feet from their home near Montoursville, according to Game Commission officials who are investigating the confrontation today.
The woman was walking her dog Monday night along Route 87 in Plunketts Creek Township when the bear charged, according to officials. The attack occurred around 9:15 p.m., just after dusk.
The bear was gone by the time firefighters arrived, but they speculated that the dog might have surprised the bear in the dark, officials said.
The identity of the woman has not been released, pending completion of the investigation.
Emergency responders say the woman suffered arm and leg injuries and was bleeding from the head. She was taken to Williamsport Hospital for treatment.
The bear escaped and remains on the loose.
According to Game Commission Information and Education Supervisor Rick Macklem, the investigation itself may take any one of a number of directions depending on the facts of the case.
“There are various scenarios,” he said. “With a woman walking her dog, she could have come upon a sow with cubs. The dog could have separated the mother from the cubs. Right now its just speculation, until our officer talks to the individual.”
Attacks are rare, Macklem said, but the common causes of those attacks are fairly well known. “Was the bear injured or hit by a car?” Macklem said. “Was it sick? ... Hopefully we’ll be able to determine the issues today.”
As to how rare, Macklem has worked for the Game Commission since 1998, and in the 10-county region including Clinton and Lycoming counties, he’s familiar with just one bear attack prior to this one.
“They are very rare,” he added. “There usually has to be some sort of special circumstances for it to happen ... The parental instinct is very strong right now. When you look at our board and look at incidents for the 10 counties, this is normally the time when bear complaints are on the rise, because the bears have come out of hibernation, some have given birth in January and are accompanied by cubs, and they are all out searching for food.”
“Pretend to be dead, cover your head?”
“That’s no longer our advice when it comes to attacks,” Macklem said. “We tell people don’t run, don’t stare the animal down and make a lot of noise. Act like it is a strange dog in your back yard. Slowly back away. If a bear approaches and attacks you, fight back, with whatever is available and get away as soon as you can.”
The commission’s experts say black bear numbers have increased substantially in Pennsylvania, from around 4,000 in the 1970s to around 14,000 today.
Today, almost three times as many hunters are harvesting bears than 30 years ago. The state’s six largest bear harvests have occurred during the past seven years.
This increase in bear numbers and range has also brought an increase in conflicts with bears, unfortunately, Game Commission officials say. Property damage, the likelihood of serious human injury and public’s tolerance for further growth of the bear population have all been impacted by the increase in bears.
Nuisance bear conflicts have increased more dramatically in the Northeast than probably anywhere else in the state.
In the late 1990s, Wildlife Conservation Officers in the 13 counties that compose the Northeast Region were responding to about 600 bear complaints annually.
In 2000, bear complaints in the region climbed to 813; the following year they exceeded 1,000; and in 2002 they numbered more than 1,100 according to PGC officials.
According to national statistics compiled by the Bear Outreach Center, each year, on average, three people are killed in bear attacks in North America, and more are seriously injured.
Experts say confrontations are on the increase, however, because more people are living, working and traveling in bear country, and in some parts of North America, bear populations are also on the increase.
For more information on black bear behavior in Pennsylvania, visit the commission’s website at:
www.pgc.state.pa.us.
