Trails closed after hiker has brush with bear

BURLINGTON >> Hiking trails at Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area have been closed after a black bear approached a female hiker in a bold manner Friday afternoon, officials say. Wildlife staff is also hoping to find and euthanize the bear.

State Department of Energy and Environmental Protection officials said the male bear, which is approximately 1 ½ years old and possibly weighs about 150 pounds, followed a woman for quite some time shortly after noon Friday. It also approached and circled the woman when she stopped walking, and at one point it appears that its mouth made contact with the hiker’s leg, officials said. The hiker was not injured.

“Our wildlife staff went out right away to try to locate and euthanize the bear,” according to a press release by DEEP spokesman Dennis Schain. “They saw it but were not able to take action before it disappeared into dense woods.”

Schain said officials set a trap in the location. The hiker made it to the DEEP building at Sessions Woods and officials responded immediately, he said.

“Our En-Con officers and wildlife biologists are keeping an eye

out for the bear and will respond to any reports of its presence,” Schain said. “We will euthanize it if we have the opportunity to do so. That is the appropriate action to take after seeing this bear’s behavior today.”

Video of the bear taken by the hiker showed tags on its ears that had been placed there by DEEP staff in previous dealings with the bear, officials say. DEEP records show the bear was first tagged as a yearling in its winter den as part of the agency’s effort to track the bear population and was also captured and relocated at least one other time.

DEEP has posted signs at Sessions Woods notifying hikers that the trails there are closed until further notice, officials said.

“DEEP staff had a chance to talk with this woman after her encounter with the bear,” Schain said. “We are relieved she was not injured. This was certainly an unusual incident as bears do not often approach people.”

Adult black bears can be 5-6 feet long. Males normally weigh 150-450 pounds while the females weigh 110-250 pounds, according to the DEEP.