Bear kills infant girl in New York

FALLSBURG, N.Y. -- A bear killed a 5-month-old girl Monday after knocking her out of a stroller and dragging the infant into the woods, police said.

The baby had been near the porch of a vacation bungalow with family members when the black bear approached, said Fallsburg police chief Brent Lawrence.

The mother shuttled her 4- and 2-year-old children inside, Lawrence said. When she returned outside, the infant was gone.

"It may be the first season that it may have been on its own, and it may very well have perceived this infant as a food source," Lawrence said. "I wouldn't categorize it as an attack -- as far as a running, snarling attack."

The bear dropped the infant, but she had severe injuries to her head and neck, and was pronounced dead at a hospital, Lawrence said.

Conservation officers and local police tracked the bear into the woods and shot it.

Ward Stone, the state's chief wildlife pathologist, said it was the first time he could remember a black bear killing a human.