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Bear and cubs killed after pensioner attack

The Local Sweden
The Local Sweden - [email protected]
Bear and cubs killed after pensioner attack

An 80-year old man in northern Sweden had a lucky escape after he was pounced upon by a female bear whilst out fishing. The bear, along with its cubs, were later put down.

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The pensioner was emptying his catch at a local lake in Homnabo when he caught a glimpse of the bear. He attempted to escape by running away but the bear quickly caught up with him and threw the elderly man to the ground. 
 
Wrestling with the bear, the man suffered two bite wounds to his shoulder and to his ear. After carrying out the attack the bear quickly returned to its three young cubs.
 
Neighbour Nils Hansson spoke to the man following the attack before he was taken to a local hospital in Gävle.
 
"He was completely calm and told me what had happened. When I asked him if he was shaky he replied simply; "I'm a man of the woods and not afraid of things like this," Nilsson told the Helahälsingland newspaper.
 
Police said the man was doing fine considering the circumstances of the attack.
 
Hunters were given authority to slaughter the bear and its young following the attack. On Saturday evening the creature and its three cubs were killed.
 
A member of the local police force said the move to kill the quartet of bears was necessary, as a result of the attack.
 
"Yes, she has shown that she is a danger to the public because she has attacked a man and bitten him severely," Ulf Sundgren of the Gävleborg police told the TT news agency.
 
He added that it simply wasn't feasible that the cubs could be placed in a zoo instead.
 
"First of all, they can't be captured and cubs without mothers are always put down," he said.
 
TT/The Local/pr 
 
 

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