Bear attack in Vermont resort town injures woman as risky encounters on the rise: officials

Woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries when bear attacked in Stratton, Vermont

A bear attacked a woman in a Vermont resort town on Wednesday evening as dangerous encounters with the animals continue to rise in the state, officials said.

Game Wardens are investigating the bear attack in Stratton, a town in southern Vermont, the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife said Thursday.

The victim was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and discharged from Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington, according to officials.

Wardens didn’t immediately detail the type of bear or describe the circumstances of the attack. 

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While officials did not say what type of bear injured the woman, a black bear, like the one pictured above, attacked another Vermont woman in August. (iStock)

A department spokesperson told Fox News Digital that more information would be made public as it becomes available.

The attack comes after Vermont wildlife officials said earlier this year that the state was seeing a record number of risky encounters between humans and bears.

"The number one cause of this dangerous, escalating behavior is Vermonters failing to secure food sources that attract bears," Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department bear biologist Jaclyn Comeau said in July. "This failure is putting people and bears in danger."

In August, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department Bear Biologist Jaclyn Comeau said bear attacks in the state were rare, with the department having records of just three previous attacks. (iStock)

In August, a Vermont woman was attacked by a black bear while walking her dogs near her home in the Orange County town of Strafford. In that case, the woman’s dog was credited with scaring the bear away. The victim was not seriously hurt.

At the time of the August attack, Comeau said bear attacks were extremely rare in Vermont and that the department had records of just three previous bear attacks.

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Officials say that if a bear confronts you, remain calm and back away slowly, and fight back immediately if attacked.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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