Bear Kills Miniature Donkey In Columbia County

HUDSON, NY — A Columbia County family lost a pet to a black bear but was able to scare it off when it came back for others.

According to a Facebook post on the Hudson, NY-Public Community Board, a miniature donkey was attacked and killed Oct. 4 in a fenced-in area on Shasta Drive off Fish and Game Road in Hudson.

The culprit was a large black bear.

After the donkey had been buried, the post said, the bear came back and got into a paddock where three other donkeys were.

The homeowner saw the bear and ran out of the house yelling at it. The animal jumped a 5-foot fence and escaped.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation and the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office were contacted, and they investigated the incident.

Wildlife biologists are working with the owners to come up with ways to protect their animals, including the installation of electric fencing, Hudson Valley Post said.

The DEC’s website said black bears are primarily vegetarians but are opportunists that will eat whatever is readily available, including small mammals, fish, carrion and garbage.

Additionally, they will eat human food, bird seed, pet food, agricultural crops and, occasionally, livestock.

For more information, check out the DEC’s Living with Bears website.