Maine game wardens say a woman was bitten by a bear while defending her pet dog in her backyard in Porter.

Officials say 64-year-old Lynn Kelly was tending to her garden when her dog took off into the woods barking at something on Friday. Soon the dog was racing back to the yard with a black bear in hot pursuit.

Mark Latti from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife said Kelly stood and made herself appear large, which is recommended in a black bear encounter. But instead of slowly retreating, she confronted the bear and punched it on the nose, resulting in the bear biting her on the wrist.

The bear then immediately retreated to the woods, and Kelly and her dog were left without serious injuries. Kelly was transported to the Memorial Hospital in North Conway NH and received treatment for puncture wounds.

The Bangor Daily News reports that although there have been no signs of the bear since Friday morning, it had been seen in the area eating bird seed for the past few days. Maine DIF&W officials have set live traps in the area.

Maine has the largest number of Black Bears in New England and is only rivaled by California for the largest population in the lower 48 states, with around 25,000 to 35,000 bears. They can bite down with 800 psi (pounds per square inch) of pressure, compared to an African Lion’s 650 psi of pressure.

To read the original Bangor Daily News article, click here.