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A Washington jogger was rushed to the hospital after a black bear attacked him Wednesday morning (August 3), according to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.
A press release from the agency says the man was jogging on a forested trail in Whatcom county when the attack happened. The victim suffered injuries to his hands and feet and was taken to the hospital. Reporters say he was released from the hospital later that day.
“He did everything right during the incident and we wish him a speedy recovery. Wild animal encounters are unpredictable but, in most cases, they wish to avoid conflict as much as we do," WDFW Police North Puget Sound Captain Jennifer Maurstad says in a news release.
Officers tracked down the bear and "lethally removed" it near where the incident happened, according to the agency. Before this attack, they got two separate reports of a black bear near the area of the incident, Whatcom News reports. One report even claims the bear was going through trash.
Officials say this is the first time since 2015 that a human-black bear encounter led to injuries. The last time someone died in a Washington bear attack was in 1974, they noted.