A black bear mauled to death a Minnesota woman when she left her cabin on a remote island to check why her dogs were barking.
On the evening of Sunday, Sept. 1. she went outside to investigate, when her two dogs started to bark, according to Ontario Provincial Police Constable Jim Davis.
Searching the area, Canadian officers found a yearling bear standing over her motionless body.
“She was obviously deceased and there was one bear standing over top of her acting aggressively, so it was shot and killed by the officers,” Davis said, according to the Post.
Davis told The Associated Press he could not say what caused the attack.

He said that there have been no reports of bears attacking people.
“The family is, of course, very devastated,” Davis said. “The officers on the scene were fairly devastated to deliver the news. ... We can’t believe a bear attacked a person.”
Red Pine Island, where she was staying, is about 10 miles (16 kilometers) northeast of International Falls, Minnesota, a few hundred yards into Canadian territory.

“Attacks of this nature are extremely rare and our hearts go out to the family and friends of the victim,” Dinani said.
On average there are around three fatal bear attacks a year in North America, with the majority coming from the more aggressive grizzly bears, even though it has a much narrower range than the black bear.
Black bears tend to be timid around people according to Dave Garshelis, a bear research scientist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. “They’re very unaggressive bears,” he told The Associated Press. “If you ever approach a black bear closely, typically they’ll see you and run off.”
However, things can be complicated by the presence of dogs. A bear can often become aggressive toward a dog which then goes running back to its owner with a charging bear in tow.
- DO NOT RUN.
- Remain calm
- Group together and pick up small children.
- Continue to face the bear and back away slowly, talking calmly to identify yourself as a human.
- If the bear continues to approach, try to scare it away by making yourself as large and imposing as possible by stretching your arms overhead and making loud noises.
- Carry and know how to use bear spray, which is available at many outdoor retailers and can be used to deter a charging bear.
It is important to note that this last piece of advice only applies in the case of black bears. With grizzly or brown bear attacks, the advice is to play dead.