Bear Follows Mini Donkey into Barn and Chases it Out

Occurred on October 14, 2022 / East Haddam, Connecticut, USA

Info from Licensor: On 10/14/2022, a Black Bear chased our miniature donkey, Oliver, into his barn where the donkey hid in his stall. The bear followed him in and attacked the donkey as he tried to escape; caught him just outside the door and started to eat him. The donkey, Oliver, died 6 and 1/2 hours after the attack. This wasn't discovered until the morning review of the security footage. Oliver had severe wounds on both of his flanks. Oliver managed to walk back into the barn an hour after the attack and collapsed in the aisle where he was first attacked. The CT DEEP was notified; they came down and set a trap to capture the bear. The bear came back the following night, exactly 24 hours after it had killed Oliver, it went into the trap, tripped it, but escaped. The bear then slowly walked up our driveway past another security camera and headed towards our neighbor's house. If the bear had been caught, it would have been tagged, hazed, and released right where it was captured. The DEEP does not relocate or put down an animal until it attacks a person or enters a house.