Overview

• Search efforts by DNR wardens, USDA Wildlife Services and Barron County deputies have set multiple traps since July 12 but the adult bear remains at large
• The 69-year-old woman called 911 after being attacked near her rural home and was flown to Regions Hospital in St. Paul with serious injuries
• Wildlife officials located a cub in a nearby tree, confirming the attack was a defensive reaction by a sow protecting her offspring
• Authorities have deployed a trained tracking hound and continue to scour the area with plans to humanely euthanize the bear upon capture
• Black bear encounters are exceptionally rare in Wisconsin, which has no recorded human fatalities and an estimated population of 24,000 animals