She heard a dog barking outside and wondered about the commotion.
It appeared to be coming from the yard next door, where her relatives lived. She went to check it out, taking her own dog on a leash with her.
But in less than five minutes, authorities said a 200-pound black bear appeared and mauled the 63-year-old woman, biting and scratching her in the face, head, arms and legs, and leaving her in the fetal position in driveway near Frederick, Md. She required nearly 80 stitches at a nearby hospital.
It’s the first time a bear is known to have attacked a human in Maryland since the state began tracking such incidents about 30 years ago, officials said. Authorities said they believe the woman inadvertently came between the sow and her three cubs.
“This is the rarest of rare,” said Candy Thomson, a spokeswoman with the Maryland Natural Resources Police. “This is really unheard of for a bear to attack a human.”
The injuries were not life-threatening, and the woman was treated for a broken arm, cuts to her head and puncture wounds to her arms, according to Thomson. The woman was said to be in good condition Thursday morning at a Hagerstown hospital, according to officials there. Authorities said their experts tracked the bear and euthanized it. In a Twitter message just before 8 a.m. Thursday, officials “wildlife biologists tracked bear. Put down.”
The attack happened around 9:20 p.m. in a heavily wooded area. Police said the woman lives next door to her adult children and heard her children’s dog barking. The woman, Karen Osborne, put her own dog on a leash and went next door to see why the other dog was barking, according to Thomson. Thomson said officers believe the woman was attacked “four different times from three different directions.” After she was attacked, authorities said she still had the presence of mind to dial 911 from her cellphone. Emergency personnel found her lying in the fetal position.
When wildlife officials arrived on the scene at 9:35 p.m., they found a 50-pound bear cub in a nearby tree. They believe that the cub’s mother attacked her. The cub was said to be healthy and was released. Wildlife authorities said they believe Osborne and her dog inadvertently got in between the sow and cubs.
(c) 2016, The Washington Post ยท Dana Hedgpeth
