A 74-year-old woman was attacked by a black bear Friday morning while walking her dog in Avon.
The woman's injuries were not considered life-threatening. She was transported to a local hospital. The bear was found and euthanized, state officials said.
The woman was walking her dog on a leash early Friday morning along Berkshire Crossing Road when a female black bear approached her and bit her, according to a statement from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
"In these situations, public safety is DEEP’s top priority," the agency said. "An attack on a human is a category 4 response, meaning humane euthanization of the bear."
The bear was in the area with three yearling cubs, but it is unclear why the bear attacked, said Jenny Dickson, the director of the wildlife division of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
“It could have been just the general reaction bears have to dogs, whether they're leashed or not,” Dickson said, adding that bears view dogs the same way they'd view a wild predator such as a coyote. “It was also trash collection day so there was certainly a lot of available food in the neighborhood. It could have been that she was taking advantage of tasty meals and said, 'I don't want anybody near me when I'm getting my food.'"
Dickson said the cubs, who were not harmed or captured, are at an age where they are not dependent on their mother.
This was the first bear-on-human attack this year in the state. There were two last year, including one in October in which a 10-year-old boy in Morris was mauled in his backyard.
Those attacks came as Connecticut saw a record number of bear home break-ins last year. Some biologists and lawmakers say Connecticut, the only state in the Northeast with a breeding bear population that does not allow hunting, needs to establish a bear hunting season to better condition bears to fear people. Others argue bears can be managed through non-lethal means and that residents need to do a better job of managing trash and other items, like bird feeders, which can attract bears.
A bill was proposed once again this year to establish a limited bear hunt in portions of the state, but the measure was ultimately dropped by lawmakers this legislative session.
Meanwhile, conflicts between people and bears continue to rise, state officials said.
"That trend is continuing this year," the DEEP said in a statement. "This week alone, DEEP responded to multiple reports of bear-home entries and had to euthanize a bear in Salisbury that had entered multiple homes."
This story has been updated. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
