Bear charges and injures man after breaking into his cabin in Tennessee
A man was injured when a black bear went into his cabin in the Smoky Mountains and charged at him, officials in Tennessee said.
The man found the bear when he went into the kitchen of the rental cabin near downtown Gatlinburg late Saturday, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said. The bear entered through a set of French doors that were locked but not deadbolted, wildlife officers told news outlets.
A trap was set and a bear fitting the description was caught and euthanized Sunday. Hair samples were taken for DNA analysis and the claws were swabbed to test for human hemoglobin, the TWRA said.
The bear injured the man's head and scratched him across his back. The man locked himself in a bedroom and called 911. He was driven to a hospital by family later and treated there.
The bear that was euthanized was a 209-pound female without cubs and was 2 or 3 years old, the TWRA said.
According to the agency, the bear population in the state continues to grow. In 2011, there were an estimated 40,000 black bears in Tennessee.
The attack marked at least the second time in the U.S. that a black bear was killed after attacking a person this week. Wildlife authorities in Washington state killed a black bear Saturday after it charged and injured a woman near a downtown park in the town of Leavenworth.
This past week, there were also two grizzly bear attacks in Wyoming.