Lehighton – Bears are being trapped and removed from the area surrounding Hickory Run State Park after an apparently hungry bear bit a 12-year-old boy scout, camping with his troop last Sunday.  The boy was not seriously hurt.

The bear, apparently sensing candy bars and cereal, but the tent, possibly in an effort to get at the food.  The boy screamed, scaring off the bear.

Game Commission officials say there is no way to positively identify the specific bear that bit the boy, so they plan to trap as many bears as possible and taking them to another more remote area.  As of yesterday, one bear, weighing 250 pounds, had been captured.

Bears can sense even small quantities of food over a mile away.  This time of the year, they begin to gorge in preparation for their winter dormancy.