A bear attacks a New Jersey woman; She is hospitalized, the bear is free – NBC10 Philadelphia

Authorities say the woman was taken to hospital after she was attacked by a black bear as she was walking down a road in New Jersey to check mail.

The New Jersey Department of the Environment said the attack took place Wednesday around 4:30 p.m. on a farm in the town of Lafayette. Officials said the 34-year-old woman saw two or three bears and “was involved in a physical encounter with one of them.”

A neighbor scared the animals away with the sound of a car. The woman was taken to hospital for treatment with arm and buttock injuries and was later released.

Government officials said the involved bear was one to two years old and weighed between 150 and 200 pounds. New Jersey Fish & Wildlife has been investigating the incident by setting a trap in the area. If the bear is caught and confirmed to be the animal involved in the attack, it will be euthanized, officials said.

Earlier this year in Sussex County, bears killed and killed two dogs, but the latest attack was the first in nearly two years involving humans.

In 2020, an 82-year-old man had to put on more than 30 stitches after a bear attack in West Milford. Wildlife officials said a 2014 bear attack in West Milford claimed the life of a 22-year-old Rutgers University student, making it the first documented fatal bear death in state history.