A teenage boy was injured when a black bear attacked a group of hikers on a trail in Washington state Tuesday, and one of the other hikers was injured while fleeing.
The hikers were almost three miles up the Mount Si trail, located about 28 miles southeast of Seattle, when the bear charged them at around 1 p.m. local time, the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife said in a release.
The bear scratched one of the hikers, a teenage boy, before the group fled, state wildlife officials said. Eastside Fire & Rescue said on social media that first responders treated two teenagers at the scene, with the attack victim taken to the hospital with a non-critical injury.
Deputies with the King County Sheriff’s Office told KOMO-TV that one of the other hikers fell and twisted an ankle as the group fled.
The hospital discharged the teenage boy who was attacked at around 9 p.m. Tuesday, one of his parents told KING-TV, adding that he is “physically okay” but also “very shaken up.”
King County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Peter Linde told KING-TV that the bear attacked after the teenage hikers inadvertently startled the bear and her cubs.
A second group of hikers also reported that a bear followed them for several miles and that they saw a smaller bear while exiting the trail, state wildlife officials said.
“We did have multiple hikers report seeing the bear as they were coming down. A lot of people reported that they had seen the bear, or the bear had been aggressive towards them,” Eastside Fire & Rescue spokesperson Catherine Imbolden told KIRO-FM.
The Mount Si trail was closed as state wildlife officers tried to find the bears, though they were unsuccessful. The Little Si and Mount Teneriffe trails were also closed due to the attack, and the three trails will reopen at 8 a.m. local time Thursday, state wildlife officials said.
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