Bear Attacks Family in Smokies

August 21st, 2008 Wade

Last week an 86 pound black bear attacked a boy in Smoky Mountain National Park. The boy was scrambling up an embankment on a dayhike with his brother and father. The bear was at the top and raised up when the boy, Evan, came into view. The bear bit the boy and started slinging him around.

The father and older brother heard the commotion and ran up to the incident. The father, John, freed the son by pulling the bears mouth apart and pushing it away. Evan ran, but was caught again by the bear. The father and older brother then began to throw rocks and sticks at it to keep it at bay. They then escaped.

The boy and father were treated for cuts, bruises and puncture marks. The bear was found a short time later by rangers and killed.

The North American Bear Center lists 61 people killed by black bears in North America since 1900, with 46 of those in Alaska or Canada. That means only 15 fatalities in 100 years in the lower 48.

There have been two fatal attacks in eastern Tennessee: A Tennessee school teacher was killed in 2000 by a female bear and cub during a day hike in the Great Smokies and an Ohio family was attacked in 2006 in bordering Cherokee National Forest, killing a 6-year-old girl and injuring her 2-year-old brother and mother.

The attacks in National Parks are odd since the bears are protected and have a large food source. Is it the traffic in the park? Is it that there are too many bears in such a small habitat that we’ve pushed them too?

Entry Filed under: Outdoor News