A 7-year-old boy was rushed to the hospital after being mauled by a male black bear while playing the backyard of their New York home.

According to reports, the animal was shot and its body was taken to test for rabies.

The youngster was playing with his sibling in the backyard of their $1.8 million in Westchester County when the animal entered their property and lunged at him.

The boy’s parents quickly ran out of the house and called emergency services while trying to distract the animal.

First responders arrived to see the animal still in the garden. Police shot the animal dead before the child was rushed to a hospital.

North Castle Police Department Chief Peter Simonsen said of the animal: “Our concern was that he did not retreat.

“At one point he did advance, and when you have that many human beings I would think that an animal of that kind would normally retreat and it did not.”

Chief Simonsen added: “The normal reaction of bears is to run away, especially with heightened activity and noise, they usually retreat.”

The horrific incident happened on Tuesday morning in leafy Hickory Kingdom Road.

Reports revealed that the bear was a juvenile and was taken away by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation which brought it to the Westchester County Department of Health for testing for rabies.

“We’ve never encountered this before,” said Carlos Cano of the Armonk Fire Department. “Mom was still in shock.”

There are around 6,000 to 8,000 bears in New York State, with experts warning that they are at their most dangerous during spring and summer.

Local resident Janet Bates told the TV channel: “It’s a scary thing, I think about it every day when I take my children out and my grandchildren out in the yard and my pets.”

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