Overview

• On July 12 a black bear sow and her cub attacked a 69-year-old woman near Comstock in Barron County, leaving her hospitalized.
• Local DNR wardens, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services and Barron County Sheriff’s Office officers joined search efforts in the forested area.
• Officials discovered the bear cub in a tree, confirming the mother bear was defending her young.
• Wildlife authorities have set traps around the attack site and plan to euthanize the mother bear if captured.
• Wisconsin has an estimated 24,000 black bears and experts say non-fatal attacks are extremely rare, with only four recorded from 2000 to 2017.