Hunt Is on for Killer Bear in Tenn.

Washington Hunter

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By Associated Press
1 hour ago

BENTON, Tenn. - Authorities hunted Friday for a black bear that picked up a 2-year-old boy in its mouth and mauled his mother, critically injuring them before killing the child's 6-year-old sister.

The attack came Thursday afternoon in the Cherokee National Forest in southeastern Tennessee.

The family was at a pool below Benton Falls on Chilhowee Mountain when the bear attacked, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said.

Witnesses told authorities the bear picked up the boy in its mouth while the mother and other visitors tried to fend it off with sticks and rocks, said Dan Hicks, a spokesman for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The mother and the boy were flown to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, authorities said.

When the bear attacked, the girl ran away, authorities said. Rescuers found the girl's body about 100 yards down the trail from the falls. A bear was standing over her.

"Allegedly, after the rescue squad found the little girl, one of the squad members fired a shot from a small caliber handgun," Hicks said Friday. "We don't know whether the bear was hit or not. There was no blood, but it chased it off."

Hicks said authorities were using dogs and set traps baited with honey buns and doughnuts. Wildlife officers planned to put out more traps Friday morning, he said.

The 640,000-acre park runs along the Tennessee-North Carolina line southwest of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Rangers said black bears rarely attack humans and that the animal may have been suffering from a disease that affected its behavior.

"It's a pretty rare thing, black bears generally don't attack people. I can't think of any time other than _ just really rare circumstances," said Monty Williams, park ranger.

In May 2000, a woman was killed by a black bear near Gatlinburg. Glena Ann Bradley, a schoolteacher from Cosby, was attacked by two female bears when she took a walk on a trail near a Smoky Mountains campground.
 
"the animal may have been suffering from a disease that affected its behavior."

Ya, right. Because they only eat the sick and old right?

I just heard this story on the radio, logged on and here it is. Too bad about the kids.
 
I heard it on the radio last night.

I posted it in C/E also sorry for the double I didnt see this post
 
I don't get out much :eek:

Hadn't heard anything about it and Benton is only 30 miles South of where I live.
 
bad ass bear

sounds like that bear needs an attitude adjustment from the wolf pack!|oo

ike
 
Tonight on FOX news, Kasich was interviewing a "bear expert" about this whole deal. He asked her if it could have been caused by a cub being in the area and she said " no" since (according to her) blackies are not protective of there young. What kinda experts are they hiring down there? Must be a southern thing cuz I know the northern sows get a might bit on the edge when you get close to there cubs.

I just had to laugh at the interview and on how stupid the so-called experts think.

Its to bad about the 6 year old, I hope mom and the brother pull through OK.
 
Sad, too bad it had to be a Kid that died. Any word on the 2 year old?
 
I hope that they find and put the bear down befor it has a chance to strike again. It might of been a once in alife time attack. But not to take any chance's. Sad day, I be dead or knock out befor I let and animal (Two/Four feet) attack my family.Hope mom and the little one pull threw.
 
They caught one in a trap that might be the bear they're looking for. I saw on the news they were going to put it down, and check the stomache contents. I think they were saying that Cherokee National forest is only about 1500 acres, and there are 500 black bears. I might be wrong though.
 
The Cherokee National Forest is 640,000 acres.

The bear was taken to UT Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Knoxville, Tn where a necropsy will be performed to determine if this is the bear. Results may not be available for several days or longer.

The area remains closed to campers and other visitors.
 
Officials won’t kill any more bears

By J.J. STAMBAUGH, [email protected]
April 18, 2006


Wildlife officials said Tuesday they don’t plan on killing any more black bears in the Cherokee National Forest after a necropsy on an animal suspected of mauling an Ohio family turned up no proof that it was the attacker.
"We are hopeful that the black bear captured Sunday and tested yesterday is the one we suspected in the attack," said Ron Fox, assistant director of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, in a written statement.

A second male bear was captured in a trap about one-and-a-half miles from the attack site on Monday but officials plan on holding it alive, according to TWRA.

"No plans are in place to euthanize any more bears at this time," the statement said.

All the traps except those in the "immediate vicinity of the attack" are being dismantled, the press release stated.

The Chilhowee and Parksville campgrounds will remain closed along with several roads and trails surrounding the attack site until the killer bear is positively identified.

Elora Petrasek, 6, of Clyde, Ohio, was killed in last Thursday’s attack while her family was visiting a waterfall pool in the Chilhowee Mountain Recreation Area near Benton. Her mother, Susan Cenkus, and 2-year-old stepbrother, Luke Cenkus, were severely injured but are expected to recover.

Officials had hoped a postmortem exam on the captured bear would allow them to reopen the area around the attack site, but Dr. Robert Donnell of the University of Tennessee’s College of Veterinary Medicine was unable to make a final determination.

Samples taken during the necropsy are being sent to various testing facilities for further analysis, and "wildlife officials hope that DNA comparisons will identify this bear conclusively as the attacker," according to the TWRA release.

The necropsy showed that the bear weighed about 200 pounds and was in good shape "for a bear coming out of hibernation ? with evidence of good fat deposits in the muscle tissue," the TWRA statement said.

Officials have suggested that the family was likely mauled by a bear in a "predatory attack" but haven’t ruled out causes other than hunger, such as illness, even though a rabies test on the deceased bear was negative.

TWRA spokesman Dan Hicks has estimated that it may take several weeks for the final analyses of the samples taken from the necropsy to be completed.
 

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