Condition update for woman hospitalized after severely injured by black bear in Wisconsin

A woman who was attacked and severely injured by a black bear over the weekend outside her western Wisconsin home had her condition upgraded Tuesday.

Karen Frye, 69, was in serious condition, up from critical, said a Regions Hospital spokeswoman.

The incident occurred about 2 p.m. Saturday near the town of Comstock in Barron County, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Frye was able to call 911 despite the injuries suffered in her yard and was soon taken by emergency responders to a hospital in nearby Cumberland.

“Due to the severity of the injuries, [the woman was] transferred to Regions Hospital in St. Paul,” a DNR statement read.

Personnel with various local, state and federal agencies “began looking for the bear, and at that time they located a cub in a tree indicating this involved a sow and cub,” the DNR statement continued.

According to emergency dispatch audio, responders were called to the 100 block of 21st Avenue regarding an animal attack.

The DNR says on its website that incidents of black bears attacking humans are “very rare” but do occur in Wisconsin and across the country. No fatalities from encounters with wild black bears have occurred in recorded Wisconsin history.

“Black bears are generally secretive, not aggressive and tend to avoid humans as much as possible but bears are sometimes known to be aggressive if cubs are present and feel threatened,” the DNR’s website points out.

DNR wardens, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services staff and a trained bear hound dog attempted to track the bear, but the search was unsuccessful, according to the DNR.

“Efforts to capture the bear are ongoing,” the DNR statement noted. “Several bear traps have been set, and a sheriff’s [deputy] is stationed at the scene. The goal is to euthanize the bear and assess its condition.”

DNR spokesman Zachary Wood told the Minnesota Star Tribune in an email Monday that “humane euthanasia is not always the standard practice in human/bear conflicts. Subsequent action in these types of situations is very carefully determined based upon the totality of the known evidence of each event. While the investigation into all of the circumstances that surround this situation continues, there is enough known to warrant attempting to livetrap at the location of the incident and humanely euthanize this bear if captured.”

“Further, in this case,” Wood said, “the cub is old enough to survive on its own, and its best chance of growing into an adult bear is to remain in the wild rather than through human intervention.”

The reason for the bear attacking the woman has yet to be determined, the DNR said.

Another agency spokesperson acknowledged that if there is a capture, distinguishing whether the right bear has been caught can be difficult.

“We will rely on the sex of the captured bear, a description of the bear involved from the responding deputies and cameras deployed in conjunction with the traps to monitor for the presence of a cub which fits that description,” said DNR spokeswoman Molly Meister. “Any bears that do not fit the description can be released unharmed.”

The DNR offers various tips for people who encounter a black bear while hiking, hunting or camping.

The do’s: Talk to the bear or start shouting if it doesn’t leave; raise your arms above your head and wave them to appear larger than you are; slowly back away and don’t turn your back on the bear; always leave an escape route for the bear; fight back if attacked.

Wisconsin is home to a thriving black bear population estimated at more than 24,000, according to the DNR. Its primary range is in the far northern third of the state, which includes Barron County.

Wisconsin hunters took 4,432 black bears during the 2024 season. This was 47.5% greater than the 2023 total of 3,005.