Bear Attack Leaves Two Campers Injured - Episode a First at National Park Since Early 1970s

By Tillie Fong
Rocky Mountain News
July 15, 2003

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK - Two men were mauled by a black bear while they were camping near Fern Lake, and one said Monday "it was extreme pain and a whole lot of blood," yet he vowed not to be deterred from future outings.

"I just woke up, and it was a blur in my head, then the blood was going everywhere," said Boulder resident Patrick Finan, 22, of the attack early Sunday. "The bear was standing outside my tent, staring in."

Finan and Tim Schuett, 23, of Glen Ellyn, Ill., were treated and released from a hospital in Estes Park Sunday. Finan had bite marks on his forehead and scalp, and Schuett had a laceration on the top of his head.

"It's rare for bears to attack people (in the park) - the last time was in 1971," said Kyle Patterson, spokeswoman for Rocky Mountain National Park.

"It appears that all the folks did everything they could to store food properly. This bear's behavior is extremely aggressive. Some bears are frightened when they see people, but this particular bear does not seem to be afraid of people. There was no food in the tents. The bear was going for the campers."

An eight-mile area from Bear Lake to Fern Lake, including Odessa Gorge, was closed Sunday to campers and hikers while rangers searched for the bear. If it is found and identified, it will be killed.

Finan said he and four other campers had gone to the campsite on the east side of the park Saturday evening. His tent was the closest to the bear pole, where they hung their stored food.

His friend, Dan Purdom, 22, of Denver, had the tent 10 yards to the left of his, and Schuett's was 30 yards away. "We cooked dinner that night and hung out," Finan said.

Finan said he didn't recall hearing anything before the bear attacked him through the tent, which had a mesh lining.

"He bit through the lining and down into my head," he said.

After he was attacked, Finan said he started yelling and ran out of his tent, blood streaming from his wound.

"I was getting out of the tent, when the bear got to Tim's tent and swiped at Tim's head (through the mesh lining). Then he just walked away."

Schuett, who was staying with Purdom, did not return calls Monday.

After the bear, which Finan estimated at 250 pounds, left the camp, the group used a cell phone to call rangers.

"We made sure that we were cognizant and had our wits about us," Finan said.

A ranger later accompanied Finan and Schuett as they hiked to a spot where an ambulance was waiting.

The same bear apparently was seen an hour later by campers at an individual campsite, about 200 yards due west of Fern Lake, apparently trying to get into a food-storage container.

An unidentified Colorado man videotaped the bear rummaging for food. "The park is in possession of the videotape," Patterson said.

"This area has seen black bears before," she said. "The whole Fern Lake and Cub Lake area has bear sightings, but not aggressive bears like this."

A bear trap was flown to the Fern Lake area Monday as the search continued.

"We will look for the next 48 to 72 hours and reassess at that point," Patterson said.

In 1971, John Richardson, 31, of Denver was honeymooning on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park when he was killed by a bear.

As for Finan, he said the experience would not stop him from camping.

"It was definitely shocking. It was something pretty unbelievable in retrospect, but it's not going to stop me," he said.

"Considering the circumstances, I’m feeling pretty good. I'm just thankful that it turned out good, and everyone is alive and well."

Article source: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_2109981,00.html