‘I saw his leg in the bear’s mouth.’ Boy mauled in grandparents’ yard, CT cops say

A 250-pound black bear mauled a young boy playing outside in northwestern Connecticut, multiple media outlets reported.

The 10-year-old boy was playing in his grandparents’ backyard on Sunday, Oct. 16, in Morris, a rural town about 30 miles west of Hartford, when a bear emerged from the woods, according to the Associated Press.

“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,” the boy’s grandfather told the Republican-American, an outlet in Waterbury.

A neighbor wielding a pipe then rushed onto the scene and scared the creature off, the Associated Press reported.

But once the grandfather and the boy had made it inside the house, the bear returned and stared at them through a screen door, reported USA Today. The boy suffered a punctured thigh and bite marks on one foot, the outlet reported.

He was brought to a hospital for treatment, and his injuries were not considered life-threatening, the Associated Press said.

The bear was shot and killed by police later in the day, according to the AP.

Black bears, which can weigh up to 550 pounds, rarely attack humans, according to Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

There are estimated to be less than 1,200 black bears in Connecticut, and the majority of them live in the northwest corner of the state, according to the department.

The department did not immediately respond to a request for information from McClatchy News.

This story was originally published October 17, 2022 at 5:16 PM with the headline "‘I saw his leg in the bear’s mouth.’ Boy mauled in grandparents’ yard, CT cops say."