BENTON, Tenn. - Authorities hunted Friday for a black bear that picked up a 2-year-old boy in its mouth and mauled his mother, critically injuring them before killing the child's 6-year-old sister.
The attack came Thursday afternoon in the Cherokee National Forest in southeastern Tennessee.
The family was at a pool below Benton Falls on Chilhowee Mountain when the bear attacked, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said.
Witnesses told authorities the bear picked up the boy in its mouth while the mother and other visitors tried to fend it off with sticks and rocks, said Dan Hicks, a spokesman for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. The mother and the boy were flown to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, authorities said.
When the bear attacked, the girl ran away, authorities said. Rescuers found the girl's body about 100 yards down the trail from the falls. A bear was standing over her.
"Allegedly, after the rescue squad found the little girl, one of the squad members fired a shot from a small caliber handgun," Hicks said Friday. "We don't know whether the bear was hit or not. There was no blood, but it chased it off."
Hicks said authorities were using dogs and set traps baited with honey buns and doughnuts. Wildlife officers planned to put out more traps Friday morning, he said.
The 640,000-acre park runs along the Tennessee-North Carolina line southwest of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Rangers said black bears rarely attack humans and that the animal may have been suffering from a disease that affected its behavior.
"It's a pretty rare thing, black bears generally don't attack people. I can't think of any time other than — just really rare circumstances," said Monty Williams, park ranger.
In May 2000, a woman was killed by a black bear near Gatlinburg. Glena Ann Bradley, a schoolteacher from Cosby, was attacked by two female bears when she took a walk on a trail near a Smoky Mountains campground.
This happened about 60 miles from wher I live.
Can you imagine the anguish that mother felt when the bear was carrying her 2 year old off? How very, very, tragic my heart goes out for this family.
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By BILL POOVEY
Associated Press Writer
Published April 14, 2006, 10:08 AM CDT
BENTON, Tenn. -- Using traps baited with honey buns and doughnuts, officials Friday tried to track down a black bear that killed a 6-year-old girl and critically injured her mother and 2-year-old brother.
The family had been at a pool below a waterfall in the Cherokee National Forest on Thursday afternoon when the bear attacked, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said.
Witnesses said the bear snatched up the boy in its mouth as the mother and other visitors tried to fend it off with sticks and rocks, said Dan Hicks, a spokesman for the agency.
The 6-year-old girl ran away but was later found dead about 100 yards down the trail, with a bear standing over her, authorities said.
"Allegedly, after the rescue squad found the little girl, one of the squad members fired a shot from a small caliber handgun," Hicks said Friday. "We don't know whether the bear was hit or not. There was no blood, but it chased it off."
Officials were still trying to piece together exactly what happened to spur the attack, forestry spokeswoman Sharon Moore said. Both the mother and boy were listed in critical condition Friday at a Chattanooga hospital, and Moore said the mother was too seriously injured to talk.
The little girl's body was taken to a mortuary in Cleveland, funeral home owner Ralph Buckner said. He declined to release her identity and no family members were at the funeral home. Authorities have also declined to release the names.
The 640,000-acre park runs along the Tennessee-North Carolina line southwest of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Authorities also are asking anyone who was at the campground and saw the attack to come forward because witness accounts could help find the bear. The campground was evacuated after the attack and the witnesses have now scattered, Hicks said.
Rangers said the animal may have been suffering from a disease that affected its behavior.
"It's a pretty rare thing, black bears generally don't attack people. I can't think of any time other than -- just really rare circumstances," said Monty Williams, park ranger.
In May 2000, a woman was killed by a black bear near Gatlinburg. Glena Ann Bradley, a schoolteacher from Cosby, was attacked by two female bears when she took a walk on a trail near a Smoky Mountains campground.
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I do feel for the family. A very sad event. Being from Alaska unfortunately I hear about bear attacks, not offen, but a bit. Also just as a personal note- I'm much more nervous about running into a black bear than a brown bear. so i don't really agree with the following quote from the article: ""It's a pretty rare thing, black bears generally don't attack people. I can't think of any time other than -- just really rare circumstances," said Monty Williams, park ranger." I know for a fact that black bears are known to stalk hikers in the woods. Granted the majority of the time bears want to avoid humans more than we want to avoid them.
There are quite a few black bear & mountain lion attacks in Colorado. A former mayor of Grand Lake, Colorado was recently killed by a moose while he was walking to church. IMHO, you should be prepared to defend yourself & family when you go out in the woods.
I do feel for the family. A very sad event. Being from Alaska unfortunately I hear about bear attacks, not offen, but a bit. Also just as a personal note- I'm much more nervous about running into a black bear than a brown bear. so i don't really agree with the following quote from the article: ""It's a pretty rare thing, black bears generally don't attack people. I can't think of any time other than -- just really rare circumstances," said Monty Williams, park ranger." I know for a fact that black bears are known to stalk hikers in the woods. Granted the majority of the time bears want to avoid humans more than we want to avoid them.
It's almost always children or very small adults that get attacked. For the most part...bears want nothing to do with a large adult male, the risk injuring themselves. That said, any animal that is sick or starving will attack just about anything. I'm not the overly paranoid type but I'm going to get back into hiking this summer. I've always hiked with a good sized stick and figured I'd fend off an animal with it...I'm a being naive?
If I were to get a gun, can you reccomend a handgun that is not too expensive, will work with one shot, and the ammo is inexpensive enough that I wouldn't go broke getting comfortable with it at the range?
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I would not go with anything less that a .44 mag for a bear. Last time I went to Alaska, my buddy & I took 8" Model 29s. I gave this other guy that went with us a double-stack .45 (Para Ordnance P14-45), but my buddy thought this guy was a flake, and took all the shells out of the mag while we were sleeping, so he was carrying an empty gun. I have seen a brown bear take a salmon off another guys line, and I have been about 3 feet from a black bear on the other side of a willow bush while fishing, but never had any of them attack. I did once ride a horse into an area where a black bear had just killed a bunch of sheep. The horse freaked, bucked me off, and I had to walk home. A black bear will wreak havoc on a flock of sheep.
I've always hiked with a good sized stick and figured I'd fend off an animal with it...I'm a being naive?
If I were to get a gun, can you reccomend a handgun that is not too expensive, will work with one shot, and the ammo is inexpensive enough that I wouldn't go broke getting comfortable with it at the range?
I really dont think a stick is going to do much for ya. You are really not taking into consideration how fast and powerful these animals really are. Yea its a great thought to have a gun while in the park but there is no firearms allowed in National parks. ?? Go figure. If that Lady did have a gun and shot the bear before it did any harm to them, PETA would have been all over that along with all those left wing tree hugers. She would have been put in prison or something along those lines. I always keep the Kimber custom Ultra Carry 45 at the campground well hidden. I dont care what park its in. I'd rather be judged by 12 than carried by six or be the one of the six carrying one of my family members. As for what gun to carry? It really depends on what your experience with guns is. And how big you are willing to go. If you are hiking you would want something light like a Kel-tech 32. There is alot of options out there. Just remember that just the sound alone of the gun is probably going to scare whatever animal is after you. So I would be willing to say that you dont have to have a big calaber gun with you while hiking. But it sure would help if the sound doesnt scare it. Just remember that the smaller the gun gets the less accurate it will be especially with rapid fire. (IMHO)Unless of course you have the absolute best gun out there like my Kimber custom!!
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Bears are a lot tougher than you think. When I used to bowhunt up in Alaska I carried a .454 Casull. I shot a Black Bear one time with Buffalo Bore 45-70, took out a lung...it did the death roll then proceeded to get up and walk away. It ended up going an additional 350 meters.
There are a lot more Black Bear attacks on humans vs. Brown and yes they will stalk you. I also think that Bear in the article was sick to be that aggressive in those surroundings.
You can bet I would be out for blood.
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Last edited by Bear Hunter : 04-14-2006 at 02:08 PM.
Yea its a great thought to have a gun while in the park but there is no firearms allowed in National parks. ??
Like I stated earlier, I live pretty close to where this happened,[about 50 miles] They do have a limited bear season in this area but it is also in close proximity to a "bear reserve" where hunting is strictly off limits. It is legal to carry a gun, but only during the deer or bear seasons. That said, i'm with you, I never leave home without some sort of weapon because as this incident shows, you just never know when you will need it.
The first couple of years I went to Alaska I took a Model 29 S&W. I soon found out that if you have to shoot a Grizzly he will probably be less that 50' away and charging.
Now I take a Marlin 45-70 stainless guide model and a Marlin 500 stainless 12 Gauge pistol grip with slugs. I carry the shotgun in a bow and arrow quiver strapped to my back for easy access while fishing.
I have had more problems with black bears in Alaska than the grizzly. The black bears won't stay away from camp. Running them off does little good. The Grizzly seem much more wary, unless you surprise them. The best fishing is in grizzly country, so there are few black bears.
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04-14-2006, 06:39 AM
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