200-pound bear mauls woman checking the mail in New Jersey. Her neighbor made it stop
A woman was mauled after a young bear, estimated at roughly 200 pounds, charged her while she was checking the mail in New Jersey, officials said.
Her neighbor ended the attack by honking his car horn, scaring the yearling black bear away, according to a statement from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
The 34-year-old woman, of Lafayette, was treated at a hospital for non-life threatening injuries to “her arm and buttock” after the bear encounter in Sussex County around 4:30 p.m. May 11, the agency said.
When the woman stepped outside and walked down a road to check the mail, she initially saw two or three black bears, according to officials.
That’s when one “charged and attacked her,” state police said in a statement to McClatchy News. Troopers were called and they observed her injuries following the attack.
All of the bears dispersed upon hearing the car horn, the state Department of Environmental Protection said. Officials from New Jersey Fish & Wildlife are investigating the incident and have set a trap for the bear in the nearby area.
If it is caught and identified, it will be euthanized as a matter of Fish & Wildlife policy, according to the department.
The agency is warning the public to “never feed or approach a bear” and “remain calm” during an encounter. “Do not run from it” and “avoid direct eye contact, which may be perceived by a bear as a challenge.”
“Make the bear aware of your presence by speaking in an assertive voice, singing, clapping your hands, or making other noises,” the department said.
Lafayette is roughly 80 miles north of Trenton.
This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 11:24 AM with the headline "200-pound bear mauls woman checking the mail in New Jersey. Her neighbor made it stop."
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