Bear caught near site of mauling

NASHVILLE -- A black bear was caught in a forest recreation area yesterday and was being sent to a veterinary school to determine whether it was the same animal that attacked a family, killing a 6-year-old girl.

Authorities found a bear in the same trap where they found paw prints Saturday in the remote Cherokee National Forest Chilhowee Recreation Area, US Forest Service spokeswoman Sharon Moore said.

The bear, which was captured near the site of the attack, looked to be the same weight as the 350- to 400-pound bear that attacked a woman and her two children on a trail in the recreation area on Thursday, she said.

''We're very hopeful this is the bear," Moore said. ''It's basically the same size bear. There's truly not that many bears in the 5,000 acres we have closed off."

Moore said authorities planned to euthanize the bear yesterday and send its body to the University of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville to determine whether it was the one that had attacked the family.

Animal specialists plan to compare the bear with hairs that were shed during the attack, said Bob Miller, a spokesman for Cherokee National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

A bear attacked and killed Elora Petrasek as she and her family were leaving a waterfall about 10 miles from the nearest highway.

The bear bit the girl's 2-year-old brother, Luke Cenkus, on his , officials said. Their mother, Susan Cenkus, 45, tried to fend off the bear but the bear attacked her, dragging her yards off the trail.

Luke Cenkus was in fair condition and their mother remained in critical condition, hospital officials said yesterday. Doctors said they expected both to recover.