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INTERNATIONAL FALLS, Minnesota – A black bear killed a Minnesota woman on an isolated island in Canadian waters in an attack that experts say is extremely rare.
Catherine Sweatt-Mueller, 62, of Maple Plain, lived with her parents at a lonely cottage on Red Pine Island in Rainy Lake, when she was killed, Ontario Provincial Police said.
Police Constable Jim Davis stated that Sweatt-Mueller was out Sunday night when she heard her two dogs barking, but that she never came back, reported the Star Tribune .
The dogs, one of them injured, returned to the cabin. His parents, who are in their 80s, were also on the island and his mother called the police, Davis said. Officers found a bear standing on Sweatt-Mueller's body and shot the animal.
Davis told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he could not say what had caused the attack. While the authorities generally handle complaints about bears trailing in the garbage from summer to fall, there have been no reports of bear attacks by bears.
"The family is of course very devastated," Davis said. "The police present at the scene were devastated enough to announce the news.We can not believe that a bear attacked a person."
The bear is sent to the University of Guelph for testing and a necropsy – an animal autopsy – will be conducted to determine if there are any physical reasons for the abnormal behavior of the animal. ;bear. Maimoona Dinani, media relations officer for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests, said in a statement. Nobody has witnessed the attack, Dinani said.
"Attacks of this nature are extremely rare and our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victim," Dinani said. The last deadly attack on a bear in Ontario took place in 2005.
Minnesota wildlife biologist Andy Tri says that a predatory attack by a black bear is "beyond extreme scarcity".
On average, a deadly attack by a black bear occurs approximately once a year throughout North America, said Dave Garshelis, a research scientist specializing in bears at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The fatal attacks of the more aggressive grizzly bear, whose range is narrower than that of the black bear, occur approximately twice a year in North America, said Garshelis.
Black bears tend to be shy with people, Garshelis said. "They are very little aggressive bears," he said. "If you approach a black bear closely, in general, they will see you and run away."
But bears can become aggressive towards dogs and can charge after a dog that has been walked by its owner, said Garshelis. The dog returns to his owner with the bear in pursuit, he said.
Red Pine Island is about 10 miles northeast of International Falls, Minnesota. According to Davis, the island belongs to the Sweatt-Mueller family, which is the sole occupant, and is accessible only by boat, in 20 minutes to half an hour.
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