Black bear mauls 3 year old girl at Montana campground while inside a tent. Wildlife officials are forced to euthanize predator animal following attack.
Wildlife officials in Montana have euthanised a black bear following reports of the wild animal allegedly attacking and injuring a 3 year old girl in a tent at a private campground over the weekend.
The alleged bear mauling is alleged to have occurred at 10pm on Sunday evening, The injured girl was taken to a hospital in Billings. Her condition remains unknown.
The young girl, whose identity remains unknown, had been in a tent at Perry’s RV campground just north of Yellowstone National Park and south of Red Lodge NBC Montana reported.
Black bear euthanized after mauling 3 year old girl
The campground was evacuated and traps were placed in the area with a bear believed to have been involved then captured and euthanized on Monday afternoon, AP reported.
Not immediately clear is whether there were any adults with the 3 year old at the time of the bear attack.
Game warden Randy Hutzenbiler said that ‘there were attractants in the area’, which included food and unsecured garbage.
The wildlife agency recommends keeping food, garbage and anything with a scent out of tents and stored in bear-resistant containers or vehicles.
According to the North American Bear Center, there are an estimated 750,000 black bears in North America.
Yellowstone is home to two species of bear, black and grizzly and it is one of the few areas outside of Canada where the bears coexist.
Park regulations say that people should stay at least 100 yards from bears unless they are in their cars.
Wildlife that attack or kill and or eat humans are often euthanised over concerns that once they have become initiated to feeding or attacking on humans, that they will seek out other humans in the future.
Notes one report, ‘Bears will return to a food source over and over. A bear that loses its fear of humans and its natural aversion to avoid humans is a dangerous animal.’
Adding, ‘Our mission is to protect wildlife. When bears become habituated to people, they can become a threat to public safety. This is why it is so important that our community works together to keep wildlife wild.’
