PD: Woman scratched by bear in Simsbury

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Environmental Conservation Police said they were called to report of an incident involving a bear and woman at the Town Forest Park just before 2 p.m.

The unidentified 41-year-old woman told police she was walking her black Labrador Retriever near the baseball field when she turned a corner and encountered the bear, DEEP spokesman said.

DEEP spokesman said the woman went to turn away, but that's when the animal "took a swipe at her." The woman's clothes were ripped and she "had scratches on the back side of her upper legs," DEEP said.

"The woman said she shouted to try and scare the bear off, and when the bear did not move, she turned to get away from it. At that point, she said, the bear approached her and swiped at her," DEEP spokesman said.

Police called the woman's injuries minor and said she didn't require any medical attention.

The dog was uninjured, DEEP said.

Officials from DEEP said the woman did everything right, by trying to scare off the bear.

The bear ran off after the incident. Simsbury police with DEEP remained at the scene searching for the bear.

The woman told DEEP that she did not see cubs with the bear. DEEP said they received reports from eyewitnesses that a sow had two cubs traveling with her.

According to DEEP, Simsbury had 291 reported bear sightings from June 2016 to June 2017.

The area is popular for bears, and on Wednesday, Eyewitness News crews even spotted a bear when they were at the scene. It wasn't the bear who scratched the woman.