Black bear mauls 3-year-old girl in tent just north of Yellowstone National Park

Authorities euthanized a black bear in Montana after it mauled a three-year-old girl near Yellowstone National Park on Sunday.

The incident happened about 10pm at a private campground south of Red Lodge, Montana. The child was taken to a hospital in Billings, about 62 miles away.

Authorities with the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks (FWP) set up a trap at the campsite on Sunday night and worked with the campground owner to evacuate the site by Monday morning. More traps and snares were set when the campground was fully evacuated.

Officials captured the bear on the afternoon of 12 August and it was shot and killed, per a news release.

Garbage, a cooler and food were food around and inside the tent where the attack took place.

The female bear did not have a history of conflicts, but had likely become food-conditioned and human-habituated, meaning it had become used to humans and began returning to locations where there were humans and food, which would normally scare bears away.

Black bears rarely attack humans but can become dangerous when threatened. A California woman who was discovered dead in her home had been killed by a black bear in 2023, the first-ever such incident in the state.

This year, a woman from western Pennsylvania was seriously injured by a black bear after letting her dog outside.

“Evidence at the site matched the physical characteristics of the bear and FWP believes the bear killed was the bear involved in the attack, the agency said.

Officials say that people should be prepared to encounter grizzly or black bears in Montana.

“Avoiding conflicts with bears is easier than dealing with conflicts,” the news release continued.

As precautions, individuals should keep food and anything with a scent out of tents, dispose of garbage in bear restraint bins or dispose of it properly elsewhere and follow local and management agency food storage orders.