Woman, 71, seriously injured after bear ransacks her New Hampshire home
“We’re going to do anything in our powers to get this animal."
New Hampshire authorities are searching for a black bear after a 71-year-old woman was seriously injured when the animal entered her Groton home early Tuesday morning.Apryl Rogers, who uses a wheelchair, suffered severe lacerations to her face and injuries to her head upon being confronted by the bear that somehow made its way into her Hall Brook Road house, according to Col. Kevin Jordan, of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department.Although authorities were not able to speak to Rogers — who was in surgery late Tuesday morning — about what happened, it’s believed the bear ransacked the house sometime before police were notified of the animal around 1:17 a.m., Jordan said.First responders brought Rogers to Speare Memorial Hospital in Plymouth, according to Jordan, who said she was later brought to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.Rogers was also being treated for rabies, although it’s unclear whether the bear was rabid, Jordan said.The encounter follows numerous calls about bear sightings in the area, with the animals in many cases rummaging through trash or bird feeders. Rogers did not have either outside her home, Jordan said.Authorities will attempt to have dogs locate the bear with its scent and will set traps to get ahold of the animal, Jordan said.“We’re going to do anything in our powers to get this animal and get it out of there but it’s going to be a challenge,” he said in an interview.The incident appeared to not be an outright attack by the bear on Rogers but rather a case of the animal being stuck in the home, according to Jordan.“(Bears) would react like anything would,” he said. “They’re trapped and they’re desperate to get out. They’re fearful. … I think this thing was just trying to get away from her.”
