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A 69-year-old grandfather confined to a wheelchair successfully hurled a piece of scrap metal at the head of a 250-pound black bear to stop it from mauling his 10-year-old grandson, authorities said.
An American black bear photographed in 2021 in Waterton Lakes National Park in southwest Alberta, Canada. The 250 pound black bear that attacked the 10-year-old boy in Connecticut on Sunday was described as ‘rogue’
The boy was attacked at around 11am on Sunday in the town of Morris, Connecticut, while playing on a trampoline in his grandparent’s garden.
The bear had the boy’s leg in its mouth and was dragging him through the garden when his grandfather, James Butler, wheeled himself over to disrupt the attack.
After an initial retreat, the bear returned to attack the boy a second time but this time was confronted by a neighbor yelling and brandishing a metal pipe, causing it to back down again.
The bear then attempted to enter the house using Butler’s wheelchair ramp but was frightened away again, this time by a state trooper who had just arrived.
Shortly after, the bear was fatally shot by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in a woodland area near the house.
The boy was taken by ambulance to a hospital for the treatment of injuries, including a puncture wound to one thigh, bite marks on his feet, and claw marks on his back, his grandparents told the Republican-American of Waterbury.
James Butler witnessed the attack of his grandson in the backyard of his home in Morris, Connecticut
Butler was doing yard work ten yards from his grandson, who was playing near a trampoline, when the bear emerged from thick woodlands behind the house, he said.
‘I heard him yell “bear” and when I looked up, I saw his leg in the bear’s mouth and the bear trying to drag him across the lawn,’ Butler told the Republican American.
After grabbing a piece of a flat metal bar he attempted to roll as close to the bear as possible in his wheelchair but unable to reach, instead threw the bar at the bear’s head.
The bear then released the boy, but after briefly backing down it returned to continue its attack, this time trying to roll the child onto its back, Butler told the newspaper.
The screaming child alerted the attention of a neighbor who entered the garden yelling and swinging a metal pipe causing the bear to leave once again.
The boy and his grandparents remained inside the house and the bear came back another time, this time it mounted Butler’s wheelchair ramp and came right up to the family’s screen door.
‘We thought he was coming through the screen,’ Butler told Republican-American.
‘No doubt he was a big threat.’
An American black bear feasts on forest berries at Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada, in 2021. According to Connecticut data the state has a population of between 1,000 and 1,200 black bears, but it is rapidly increasing
The boy, 10, was taken to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital for treatment of injuries including a puncture wound to one thigh, bite marks on his foot and ankle and claws marks on his back
The bear was described by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as a ‘rogue’ male weighing an estimated 250 pounds.
The bear is now being checked for rabies and any other relevant medical conditions, authorities have said.
The boy was treated at Charlotte Hungerford Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.
According to Connecticut data, the state has a population of between 1,000 and 1,200 black bears, but it is rapidly increasing.
This expanding population has prompted debate among residents who are reporting more sightings and are increasingly concerned about their aggression.
Senator Craig Miner is a member of the state’s Environment Committee and represents the north west part of Connecticut where bears and bear interactions are most common.
He has been a leading advocate for the legalization of hunting black bears to stymie their population but has been thwarted by animal activists.
In the meantime the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has suggested people can minimize the likelihood of an attack by never feeding the bears, bringing out trash in the morning and thoroughly cleaning grills.
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