LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — It was still light out on Monday when two children, ages five and 14 months old, were bitten and scratched by a bear while playing in their driveway.
It happened in a small housing development along Jacob's Ladder Road in Wright Township near Mountain Top.
"We live right near the woods, and bear and deer and other animals are very hot. They approach humans now; they're not afraid anymore; they'll come right up to you," said Lisa Steltz, Wright Township.
Lisa Steltz has lived in the area for years and says it's not just people you need to keep an eye out for, "It's horrible. I mean, you have to watch out for the animals as much as you do humans. I mean, you can't let your kids go out and play without looking around. You can't go out to your car without checking first to make sure that there's not a bear near you."
"You're developing in areas where the animals already live, so they just get pushed further back into the woods, and then people have garbage sitting outside, or if you feed animals or anything they're attracted to food, they'll come and find an easy meal," said Carl Clymo, Wright Township.
An avid outdoorsman, Carl Clymo says most bears he's seen are more afraid of you than you are of them.
But as a father, to hear about an attack in a neighborhood, Clymo says, is terrifying.
"I'm sorry about the kids that got, you know, that were injured and stuff, but you pray to God I never happens. You don't ever wanna find yourself in that situation. It would be very scary," said Clymo.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission set up two traps to try and catch the bear.
Until that happens, Clymo's daughter Scarlet says if she sees a bear when she's outside, she knows just what to do, "I quickly or quietly try slowly to get back into the house and be aware of my siblings and my parents."
If a bear is caught in the traps, officials plan to use DNA testing to identify whether it was the same animal involved in the attack.
Both children who were attacked are expected to be okay.
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