Bear in Tennessee kills six-year-old girl
Friday, April 14, 2006
A six-year-old girl was killed after a Black Bear attacked her mother and two-year-old brother.
The nearly 400 pound bear attacked the family when they were staying at Chilwoee Campground located within the Cherokee National Forest in Tennessee. The family was visitng a nearby waterfall when they were attacked.
According to recusers, the girl managed to escape from the bear, but was found only an hour later by a rescuer who fired shots which scared the bear away.
"Allegedly, after the rescue squad found the little girl, one of the squad members fired a shot from a small-calibre handgun. We don't know whether the bear was hit or not. There was no blood, but it chased off," said Dan Hicks a spokesman for the states Wildlife Resources Agency.
The mother and the brother both remain in critical condition at a hospital in Chattanooga hospital. The boys head was bitten by the bear, which punctured his skull, before it attacked his mother. The mother was trying to scare the bear away with rocks and sticks before being attacked. According to doctors, she had several puncture wounds to her neck, but had too many other claw and teeth marks for them to count. Both are expected to recover.
Investigators, so far, have not been able to speak to the mother because her injuries are too severe.
"She may not remember the attack at all," said Hicks. He also said that it was only Tennessee's second documented attack involving a bear.
Officials have baited traps with honey buns and doughnuts to try and catch the bear.
"There is a chance that the same bear would attack someone else, so I hope they do catch him," said Lynn Rogers of the North American Bear Center.
Authorities have not yet released the names of the victoms and the campground has been closed.
Sources
- Oliver Burkeman. "Rare black bear attack kills girl in US campsite" — Guardian Unlimited, April 14, 2006
- "Black bear kills six-year-old girl in Tennessee" — Monsters and Critics.com, April 14, 2006
- Bill Poovey. "Tenn. Authorities Hunt for Killer Bear" — ABC News, April 14, 2006
