RHINELANDER, Wis. — The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources' carnivore specialist says attacks by black bear in Wisconsin are unusual, despite two such incidents so far this spring.
David MacFarland, in Rhinelander, says black bear are not aggressive animals and usually don't attack, so the recent attacks in Wisconsin are rare incidents.
In the most recent attack in Burnett County Monday night, a man's dog initiated contact with a bear outside a cabin near Shell Lake before the bear mauled the man and ran off. The man was taken to a hospital in the Twin Cities.
Last month, Gerre Ninnemann's dog tangled with a bear outside in Marinette County before it attacked the man. Ninnemann's wife hit the bear over the head with a gun. That bear was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy.
