Three people injured in bear attacks over the weekend

A grizzly bear attacked and injured two men who apparently surprised the bruin while they were recreating in the Shoshone National Forest in northwestern Wyoming, state wildlife officials said Monday.

The encounter happened Saturday while the men were off a trail and searching for antlers shed by deer and elk in the forest southeast of Yellowstone National Park, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said.

The antlers can be sold for taxidermy and craft purposes and for dog chews.

The men were able to call 911 from near the scene and other recreationists in the area were able to get them to the trailhead, where they met search and rescue teams. One man was flown to the hospital by helicopter while the other was taken by ambulance.

The two victims are Kendell Cummings of Evanston and Brady Lowry of Cedar City, Utah – both sophomores at Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming, the school said. 

State officials declined to release information about their conditions on Monday.

Reports from hunters and landowners in the area where the attack occurred indicate there may be six to 10 bears moving between agricultural fields and low-elevation slopes, Dan Smith, a regional wildlife supervisor, said in a statement.

The agency does not plan to take any management action against the grizzly bear, such as relocating it or euthanizing it, Smith said Monday, because the attack was due to the bear being surprised and because wildlife managers would not be able to identify which of the bears in the area was involved.

Grizzly bears are protected under the Endangered Species Act.

On Sunday, in a separate attack, a child was attacked in Morris Connecticut by a bear and suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Wildlife officials say the bear, a male, weighed 250 pounds and wasn't tagged. 

A neighbor says he saw the bear just before it attacked the 10-year-old boy. He started making noise to scare the bear off, but the bear kept coming closer.

"He just walked up to me and my wife like we weren't even there," says neighbor Jonathan Digmas.

The bear walked over to Digmas' neighbor's house where a grandfather was spending time outside with his grandson. The grandfather used a crowbar to get the bear away from his grandson, but the bear did not leave. That's when Digmas showed up.

"I grabbed the steel pipe that I found on the ground right over on my neighbor's fence and hit the pipe on the ground" says Digmas.

While he was trying to distract the bear, the grandfather who is in a wheelchair, worked to get his injured grandson inside.

"He had puncture wounds on his foot, he was bleeding from his foot and his back had scratches all over from the bear. He also got bit on the back of the leg," says Digmas.

The bear was still near the scene and was euthanized by responding police.

In:
• Grizzly Bear
• Wyoming