Girl, 8, brings down 1st bear in Md. hunt

KITZMILLER, Md., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The first kill of the season in a Maryland's black bear hunt in Maryland was made by an 8-year-old girl who took a day off from elementary school.

Sierra Stiles brought down a 211-pound male bear on her great-uncle's farm in Kitzmiller, in western Maryland, the Baltimore Sun reported.

Sierra was the youngest and smallest person to participate in the hunt, but she passed the required nine-hour safety course with high marks.

The state only has 200 bear kill licenses available this year but received 10 times that many applications.

The state plans to end the hunt when 40 bears have been killed. Bear hunting was revived last year after a 50-year hiatus.

Sierra's achievement was not universally celebrated. Michael Markarian, executive vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, called allowing an 8-year-old to hunt "terrible cruelty."

But Sierra does not see it that way. She says she jumped up and down after bringing down the bear, which she plans to turn into a rug.