10-Year-Old Boy Mauled By Bear While Playing in Connecticut Backyard

A black bear roams in Three Rivers, Calif., on Oct. 23, 2015. Brian Melley/AP Photo

A 10-year-old boy was attacked by a black bear while playing in his grandparents’ backyard in Connecticut on Sunday.

The attack happened at about 11 a.m. in Morris, a town of about 2,200 people northwest of Waterbury, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) told reporters. The injuries were not fatal, and the boy is undergoing treatment.

The bear was fatally shot by police following the incident.

James Butler, the boy’s grandfather, said the child was playing near a trampoline when the 250-pound bear came in from behind the house.

“I heard him yell ‘bear’ and when I looked up, I saw his leg in the bear’s mouth and the bear trying to drag him across the lawn,” Butler told the Republican-American, a local newspaper.

The bear released the boy when Butler, who uses a wheelchair, wheeled toward the animal and threw a metal bar at its head. However, the animal grabbed the child again and used its claws to roll him on his back.

The screams alerted a neighbor who rushed over and scared off the bear by brandishing the pipe and yelling, according to Butler’s account.

When they got back inside the house, the bear returned and peered in through the screen door.

“We thought he was coming through the screen,” Butler said. “No doubt he was a big threat.”

Butler’s wife, Christina Anderson, was inside the house when the bear attacked. The couple said the boy suffered a puncture wound to one thigh, bite marks on a foot and ankle, and claw marks on his back.

State biologist Jenny Dixon said the risk of negative bear-human interactions is increasing as Connecticut’s expanding bear population becomes acclimated to humans and develops a taste for their food.

Black Bears

The number of black bears dwindled almost to extinction in Connecticut by the mid-1800s, but the population has started to rebound.

There are an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 black bears currently in the state, mostly in the northwest quarter, but they’ve been expanding into suitable habitats in eastern Connecticut, according to official statistics.

Black bears are highly sensitive to smells of food, which can lure the animals from quite a distance. They are reportedly shy of humans, but in the presence of available food, they lose their fear and can become aggressive.

The DEEP website warns hikers and campers in the state to make their presence known by making noise and waving arms. It advises people not to run away or climb a tree when faced with a bear, but rather to stay calm and retreat slowly. The bears may “bluff charge” to within a few feet when they feel threatened.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.