Black bear euthanized after attacking 3-year-old in her tent

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks officials announced they had located and killed a black bear that attacked a 3-year-old girl Sunday at a campground near Red Lodge. The young girl was sleeping in her family’s tent when she was attacked, according to a Facebook post from the agency. Officials have not released any information about the girl’s condition, other than to say she was taken to a Billings hospital after the attack.

The incident took place around 9:45 p.m. on Perry’s RV Park and Campgroundwhich is located on Rock Creek, just a few miles south of Red Lodge. The private campground was evacuated Monday morning when MFWP officials arrived to attempt to capture the black bear. They successfully captured and killed a bear at 8:25 p.m. that same day that they believe was the same bear involved in the attack.

“Our conservation staff and enforcement officers continue to catch [there] until Tuesday afternoon, just to make sure there isn’t another bear in the area that could be involved,” said Chrissy Webb, MFWP spokesperson. Outdoor living.

Read more: “Cowboy Camper” wakes up with his head in the jaws of a black bear

Webb could not say whether the agency would conduct DNA testing on the bear to ensure it was the animal involved in the incident. But she said, “We feel really confident at this point that we have already captured and euthanized the bear that was involved in the attack.”

It is not known when the private campground will be allowed to reopen. Perry’s staff could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Few further details are available about the bear attack, but Webb says “unsecured attractants” played a role in the attack. Officials explain in a press release that they found trash, a cooler and human food in the tent.

“We don’t have any details on this particular bear yet,” she explains, “but it appears there were attractants in the area that drew the bear to this location.”

Anthony Cerra, a man who claims to be the victim’s grandfather, confirmed this in a Facebook comment on the MFWP post. Cerra wrote that “they should have definitely put stuff out!” He said that three of his grandchildren were also sleeping in the same tent when the attack occurred.

Read more: A bear killed and ate an elderly woman in her home, marking the first fatal black bear attack in California history.

MFWP emphasizes that you should be “alert to bears” when camping or recreating in bear country, especially at established campgrounds where large concentrations of people can attract opportunistic bears. In its guide to camping in bear countryMFWP points out that most conflicts between humans and black bears at campgrounds involve bears that have been fed.

“A campsite full of food can be a death sentence for a bear,” MFWP says. “After using scare tactics and multiple relocations, FWP rangers and biologists must kill 10 to 12 bears each year when the animals, attracted by food, repeatedly raid campsites and endanger human safety.”