‘Terrified’: Vermont woman attacked by bear saved by flashlight

WINHALL, Vt. — A Vermont lady was attacked by a bear after her canine chased a cub up a tree, angering the protecting mom.

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Sarah Dietl, 43, of Winhall, wanted 15 staples in her scalp and suffered from “a mangled” hand, cuts on her face and a gash in her aspect, the Brattleboro Reformer reported.

In line with the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Division, Dietl sustained accidents that weren’t thought-about to be life-threatening, WTEN-TV reported.

Simply earlier than 10 p.m. on Wednesday, Dietl let her Shih Tzu, Bodhi, out of the condominium she shares along with her boyfriend, Robert Montuoro, the Reformer reported. The canine noticed a bear cub and chased it up right into a tree, VTDigger reported.

The cub’s mom got here charging towards Dietl and clamped her jaws on the lady’s head.

“She got here working out of the darkish. She ran proper to me,” Dietl informed the Reformer on Thursday. “It was terrifying.”

Montuoro stated the couple was close to the entrance door of their condominium when the assault occurred, in response to the newspaper. The canine bought into the condominium and Montuoro acted rapidly, swatting the bear within the head with a heavy-duty flashlight he was carrying. The bear let go of her grip on Dietl and the couple scrambled into the condominium.

“I feel I attempted to combat, however I simply ended up in a fetal place making an attempt to guard my head,” Dietl informed WNYT-TV. “Fortunately Bobby got here out in time and he pulled the bear off me with a flashlight.”

Though the couple was protected, the bear was not carried out displaying her displeasure.

“As soon as I pulled Sarah into the home, the bear charged the door,” Montouro informed the Reformer, including that they known as 911 instantly. “I used to be (expletive) terrified.”

“Earlier than letting pets out at evening, I’d urge Vermonters to mild their yards and make loads of noise to permit wildlife within the space time to maneuver on,” sport warden Kyle Isherwood stated in a press release. “Together with securing meals that might entice wildlife right into a developed space, steps like this are essential for the protection of individuals and wildlife.”

Col. Justin Stedman, warden director for the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Division, stated bear encounters in Vermont this yr are at “the very best degree than we’ve ever had.” He attributed that to a rise in bear and human populations and a scarcity of meals for bears resulting from a scarcity of rain. Dry circumstances and hotter temperatures have precipitated the bears to hunt meals in areas the place individuals stay.

“Bears are clever creatures,” Stedman informed the Reformer. “They be taught to affiliate individuals with meals, as a result of people need to feed the birds, or they need to put their rubbish out. They don’t need to fear about it. These form of issues habituate bears to individuals, and it compounds over time.”

Regardless of the scary encounter, the couple, who’ve lived within the condominium for seven years, isn’t blaming the mom bear for shielding her younger.

“We construct condos in locations the place bears used to stay, and we’re kicking them out,” Montouro informed the Reformer. “It’s not their fault.”

“The response from the police division, the sport wardens, and the EMTs … they’re all angels.”

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