Black Bear is Euthanized After Video Goes Viral

Burlington, Conn. – A bear was killed after a hiker posted a video on Facebook of it following her and trying to bite her leg.

Stephanie Rivkin posted the video on Facebook last Tuesday, of two bears following her down the trail in Sessions Woods near Burlington.

One of the bears appears to be more curious than the other, and attempts to nibble on her leg.

Rivkin was not hurt by the black bears, but the video earned national attention and officials shut down the trail.

After some deliberation, park officials deemed the bear to be a danger to the public, and shot it on Wednesday.

Rivkin is now being vilified online by people angry about the bear’s death. Rivkin admits she did not have bad intentions posting the video online.

“It was just a way for me to not feel alone,” she told the New York Daily news. “Just in case I don’t make it out of the woods alive—(my family) will know what happened to me.”

Dennis Schain, a spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, told The New York Daily News, that the bear had a history of being aggressive.

“We had to make a judgment,” he said. “And our judgment was the bear needed to be euthanized.”