A black bear weighing nearly 18 stone was seen attacking a 10-year-old boy who was playing in his grandfather's back garden in Connecticut.
The horrifying incident took place on Sunday morning at around 11am in the town of Morris, Connecticut when the bear attempted to drag the child across the lawn of the garden while clawing and biting the youngster, according to the state's Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).
State police and DEEP's conservation force responded to the scene and located the bear before fatally shooting the beast, authorities said.
The child was taken to Charlotte Hungerford Hospital where he was treated for non-life-threatening injuries caused by the bear's mauling, with a puncture wound to a thigh, bite marks on his foot and claw marks on his back.
According to the child's grandfather, James Butler, the 10-year-old was playing on a trampoline in his back garden when the black bear emerged from the thick woods and lunged at the boy.
"I heard him yell ‘bear’ and when I looked up, I saw his leg in the bear’s mouth and the bear trying to drag him across the lawn," Butler told the Republican-American of Waterbury.
Butler, who uses a wheelchair, added that he wheeled himself towards the bear to save his grandson and threw a metal bar at the beast's head.
He said that the bear briefly released the child but then grabbed the boy for a second time before the 10-year-old's screams alerted a neighbour, who helped by scaring off the bear by shouting and brandishing a pipe.
Butler and his grandson moved inside the house for safety before the bear returned, looking at the pair through the screen door.
"We thought he was coming through the screen. No doubt he was a big threat," Butler added.
A police officer is believed to have scared off the bear by rattling the screen door before the beast was located later in the day and was shot dead.
It is estimated that the population of black bears has risen in Connecticut to around 1,000 to 1,200, mainly in the northwest quarter of the state.
Last month, a woman was rushed to hospital after she was attacked by a bear while she was fixing her hot tub - leading to authorities killing the bear and its cubs.
A woman from New Castle, Colorado, went outside at 2am to investigate why her hot tub lid was removed.
Subsequently, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW), she was viciously attacked by a bear that came out of hiding by the trees nearby her home.
The CPW said in a news release: "The bear, later determined to be the sow, swiped at the woman, hitting and severely lacerating her arm.
"The victim was able to get away from the bear and inside her home where she called 911."
