It happened at Glacier View Ranch in Colorado, around 48 miles from Denver. A 19-year-old teenager by the name of Dylan was working as a staffer at the camp. He awoke in the night to a crunching sound, only to find a bear had his head in its mouth. The bear was reportedly attempting to drag him out of the tent.
Teenagers fought off the black bear
As reported by the Coloradoan, Jennifer Churchill, a spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife said the Teen, only named as Dylan, was punching the bear while other staffers began yelling, picking up things around them to hit the bear.
In all the commotion, the bear left the camp. Dylan was taken to a hospital for treatment, had nine staples to his head and suffered a few scratches, but was released. No one else was injured in the incident.
ABC News reports Dylan, who teaches wilderness survival at the camp, had told their affiliate KMGH-TV that he was dragged over 10 feet before being able to free himself. He said he believed the crunching noise he had heard was the sound of the bear’s teeth scraping against his skull as it latched onto his head.
Unprovoked attacks by black bears are not common
According to Churchill, unprovoked attacks are not common among black bears. She said they are known to bite and paw at tents when there is food inside and will protect their young.
However, on checking Dylan’s tent, there did not appear to be any food that would have attracted the animal. CNN quotes Church as saying she believes the bear that attacked Dylan should be removed from the Colorado park.
Teen camp counselor wakes up to "crunching noise" – and discovers his head is inside bear’s mouth https://t.co/IKNyJ1Kme4 pic.twitter.com/E4hZ9wiqQx
— Alaska Dispatch News (@adndotcom) July 10, 2017
Traps set for the aggressive black bear
Officers have now set up a trap in the camp and were using hounds to track the bear on Sunday morning, after letting them smell the teenager’s sleeping bag to get the bear’s scent.
However, the temperatures became too hot for the hounds and they had to be called off.
Churchill then reiterated that they are concerned about the black bear and that it is definitely dangerous. As the bear’s behavior was so unusual, Churchill said any bears found in the traps over the next few days are likely to be euthanized.
She added that DNA tests would then be run to find out if it was the bear that attacked the teenager.
While the bears are not normally aggressive, there has reportedly been a spike in bear attacks over the last few weeks in the Western U.S. Officials received more than 100 calls in just one week relating to bear sightings that they say qualify as “conflict situations.”
A teenager has had a lucky escape from a bear attack after waking to find the animal biting his head https://t.co/K1YJbZpWe0
— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 10, 2017
Four bears shot and killed
According to the Coloradoan, Dylan’s attack comes four days after four other bears were shot and killed. Two were shot by homeowners, whose homes the bears entered, while the other two were euthanized after being tracked by Wildlife Services. One of those bears was killed in Pagosa Springs after it killed chickens, while the other had killed chickens and pigs.