Two bears were captured, and one was euthanized, Friday after one of the bears attacked two children in Pennsylvania last week, officials said.
A 5-year-old and 14-month-old were playing in the driveway of their home when a bear attacked them in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, on May 22, the Pennsylvania Game Commission said in a news release.
The children were treated for bites and scratches at a hospital, the game commission said.
After the incident, officials set up bear traps in the area and captured two bears – a male and a female – later that week.
“Previously completed DNA testing on the clothes the children were wearing at the time of the attack had developed a profile for the bear in the attack,” the game commission said in the release. “Testing performed there concluded the trapped female bear indeed was the same one from the attack.”
Pennsylvania euthanizes bears who attack people to ‘ensure public safety’
The game commission said bear attacks in Pennsylvania are extremely rare, but bears who attack people are captured and euthanized to ensure public safety. Euthanasia is also the only way to test bears for rabies, the game commission said.
“If a bear tests negative for rabies, it relieves concerns the animal has caused further public health risk, and allows attack victims to possibly be spared rabies treatments,” the game commission said.
The male was relocated to remote area away from the attack site. The game commission said Pennsylvania’s “once-beleaguered bear population” is prospering and there are about 15,000 bears statewide with “bear hunting opportunities in most counties.”
“While the agency doesn’t take lightly its duty to follow protocol to euthanize a bear involved in an attack, it also places great importance on ensuring public safety, and in this case we have fulfilled our responsibility through our actions,” game commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans said.
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