New Hampshire woman attacked by bear

GRAFTON, N.H. (WHDH) -- A bear attacked a woman in Grafton, New Hampshire. The bear could smell dinner cooking on the stove, and as the woman went to let out her dog, the bear lunged at her.

Her neighbors couldn’t believe it.

“She came up with a towel wrapped around her arm and said a bear just attacked her.

“The bear lunged at her. On her front porch. I went up there and saw all of the blood. I mean, you know, it's all on her front porch,” Robert Deroo said.

Deroo said the 46-year-old woman was cooking dinner Saturday night at her home and she left her kitchen window open.

“It looked like she need 100 stitches.”

“She’s okay. The man ran the bear off along with his three cubs.”

The victim didn't want to talk to reporters, exhausted from the encounter.

Another resident says he sees bears all the time .

“Never had a problem except, you know, like I say it does come around. I never had it come up my front steps.

A wildlife expert with New Hampshire Fish and Game said because of the early spring this year, bears are out looking for food more than they normally would be at this time of year. So anyone who lives near bears needs to take certain steps to protect themselves.

Fish and Game officers said never leave your trash out, remove bird feeders and keep a close eye on your pets, especially dogs. Wildlife officers set a trap for the bear and will make a decision on whether or not to euthanize it if it's caught. But they did say that this was not an attack, rather an unfortunate encounter between a mother bear protecting her cubs and a human.