Mary Clapsaddle, a 75-year-old member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, was bitten by a bear at a zoo on the North Carolina reservation.

Clapsaddle is expected to recover after Monday's incident. Her son, Kole Clapsaddle, said she didn't follow the rules when feeding the bear.

“She didn't follow the rules,” Kole Clapsaddle, who owns the Chief Saunooke Bear Park, told The Asheville Citizen-Times. “If you follow the rules, you don't get hurt.”

The Department of Agriculture is sending inspectors to the zoo to investigate. Animal rights activists have called for the tribe to close the facility.

Get the Story:
Feds probe Cherokee bear attack (The Asheville Citizen-Times 12/9)

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