LANSING, Mich., Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A Michigan hunter says he killed a female black bear who attacked him in his tree stand in the Upper Peninsula.
The man, who asked not to be identified, said the incident occurred Sunday night in Mackinac County while he was in a tree stand above a pile of bear bait, the Detroit Free Press reported Tuesday.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said the man told officials three cubs were eating the bait when a female bear weighing about 220 pounds arrived and saw the hunter. She climbed nearly 12 feet up the tree and clawed the man's leg. The hunter said he tried to kick the bear away before shooting her.
State game laws forbid shooting a female bear accompanied by cubs unless it is in self-defense.
The newspaper said it is the second time a black bear has attacked a Michigan hunter in the past 12 months. The other incident occurred last October when a deer hunter was attacked in his tree stand near Petoskey, Mich
DNR officials said bear attacks are very rare in Michigan and there have been no fatal attacks in recent memory, the newspaper said.
