bear
A woman was injured Wednesday afternoon in Sussex County after she was attacked by a black bear while she was walking down a road to check her mail, officials said.

The incident happened around 4:30 p.m. in Lafayette on Gorney Road, according to a statement from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The 34-year-old woman saw two to three bears and was "involved in a physical encounter with one of them."

The New Jersey State Police said the bear charged after the woman, but the DEP said they could not confirm that as of 5 p.m. as the attack remained under investigation.


A neighbor used his car's horn to scare the bears off, but the woman was left with injuries to her arm and buttock and had to be taken to a local hospital for treatment, authorities said. She was later released.

The bear involved in the attack was reported to be between 150 and 200 pounds and between the ages of one and two, the DEP said. New Jersey Fish & Wildlife was investigating the incident and have set a trap in the area.

If the bear is caught and confirmed to be the same animal involved in the attack, it will be euthanized, officials said.

The DEP warned the public to never feed or approach a bear and to observe several safety tips.

Earlier this year in Sussex County, bears mauled and killed two small dogs, but this was the first time this in almost two years that a person was hurt by one.

In 2020, an 82-year-old man was left with more than 30 stitches when he was attacked by a bear in West Milford.

In 2014, a 22-year-old Rutgers University student was killed by a bear while hiking in West Milford - the first documented fatality from a bear in state history, according to wildlife officials.