MBullism
08-31-2003, 09:37 AM
Sunday, August 31, 2003
Teen outfights bear in close encounter
Boy looking for family's dogs in woods
Noreen Gillespie
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARTFORD- A 17-year-old Trumbull teenager scuffled with a bear while he was searching for the family's dogs on Friday night, state environmental officials and the boy's family said.
Christopher Magee, 17, was looking for the dogs in the wooded Pequonnock Valley section of town around 7:45 p.m. He poked his head in through a patch of laurel and saw the bear staring back at him, said Capt. John Smutnick with the Department of Environmental Protection.
"The bear sort of rose up, and the only way out was over the top of the 17-year-old," Smutnick said.
Magee, who is 6-foot, 3-inches tall, weighs 245 pounds and plays football, realized he couldn't outrun the bear, said his father, Joe Magee. He went toward the animal and began to struggle, finally freeing himself by punching the bear in the chest, the elder Magee said.
Then, he ran. His mother found him approaching the house with a tattered T-shirt, torn shorts and missing a sneaker he lost while sprinting from the woods. She called police when Magee told her what happened, his father said.
"He really looked like he was in a complete daze," the elder Magee said. "He looked like he'd been through the wringer with something."
Magee suffered welts and scratches on his chest, stomach and back, his father said. He was checked for rabies, but did not require hospitalization. After giving a round of interviews to police and the DEP, he headed to a concert yesterday, his father said.
Yesterday, wildlife biologists, conservation officers and members of the Trumbull Police Department were combing the woods for the black bear. The DEP planned to set a walk-in trap, and if the animal is found, it will be euthanized, officials said.
Bears with a history of human contact are euthanized according to DEP policy, said Smutnick. Officials did not know if the bear had a history of any type of dangerous behavior.
"This is a very unfortunate incident. However, we are glad that the individual involved was not too seriously hurt and is recuperating," said DEP Commissioner Arthur J. Rocque Jr. in a statement.
More than 1,000 bear sightings have been reported to state environmental officials during the year. Bear sightings are rare in Trumbull, Smutnick said, so officials were fairly confident if a bear was seen, it would be the one that struggled with Magee.
State officials said it was the first incident in recent memory in which a bear had a "physical encounter" with a human. State environmental officials said they did not believe the bear was aggressive and did not think the public was in any danger.
The dogs - a Jack Russell terrier named George Harrison and a black Labrador named Eleanor Rigby - were found by Magee's mother unharmed, the family reported.
Teen outfights bear in close encounter
Boy looking for family's dogs in woods
Noreen Gillespie
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARTFORD- A 17-year-old Trumbull teenager scuffled with a bear while he was searching for the family's dogs on Friday night, state environmental officials and the boy's family said.
Christopher Magee, 17, was looking for the dogs in the wooded Pequonnock Valley section of town around 7:45 p.m. He poked his head in through a patch of laurel and saw the bear staring back at him, said Capt. John Smutnick with the Department of Environmental Protection.
"The bear sort of rose up, and the only way out was over the top of the 17-year-old," Smutnick said.
Magee, who is 6-foot, 3-inches tall, weighs 245 pounds and plays football, realized he couldn't outrun the bear, said his father, Joe Magee. He went toward the animal and began to struggle, finally freeing himself by punching the bear in the chest, the elder Magee said.
Then, he ran. His mother found him approaching the house with a tattered T-shirt, torn shorts and missing a sneaker he lost while sprinting from the woods. She called police when Magee told her what happened, his father said.
"He really looked like he was in a complete daze," the elder Magee said. "He looked like he'd been through the wringer with something."
Magee suffered welts and scratches on his chest, stomach and back, his father said. He was checked for rabies, but did not require hospitalization. After giving a round of interviews to police and the DEP, he headed to a concert yesterday, his father said.
Yesterday, wildlife biologists, conservation officers and members of the Trumbull Police Department were combing the woods for the black bear. The DEP planned to set a walk-in trap, and if the animal is found, it will be euthanized, officials said.
Bears with a history of human contact are euthanized according to DEP policy, said Smutnick. Officials did not know if the bear had a history of any type of dangerous behavior.
"This is a very unfortunate incident. However, we are glad that the individual involved was not too seriously hurt and is recuperating," said DEP Commissioner Arthur J. Rocque Jr. in a statement.
More than 1,000 bear sightings have been reported to state environmental officials during the year. Bear sightings are rare in Trumbull, Smutnick said, so officials were fairly confident if a bear was seen, it would be the one that struggled with Magee.
State officials said it was the first incident in recent memory in which a bear had a "physical encounter" with a human. State environmental officials said they did not believe the bear was aggressive and did not think the public was in any danger.
The dogs - a Jack Russell terrier named George Harrison and a black Labrador named Eleanor Rigby - were found by Magee's mother unharmed, the family reported.