A 14-year-old Texas boy fought off a marauding black bear that invaded his tent in a private campground east of Salida early Tuesday, suffering minor injuries and gaining a heck of a story.
Keelan Patton of Pampa, Texas, was asleep with his cousin about 1 a.m. when the bear crashed through their tent’s nylon fabric, biting and scratching the youngster’s hand and face.
“It was just so unreal. It was like a dream – a very painful dream,” Patton said Tuesday afternoon. “I feel pretty lucky.”
Patton suffered what his mother, Jana, thinks is a bite on his head and a claw scratch on his hand that required 14 stitches.
“It scared him pretty good when it happened,” she said. “But he’s pretty resilient.”
Patton and his cousin, Brendan Rice, were asleep in the tent next to the camper where his mother, sister and grandmother slept at Cutty’s Camping Resort in the rural Arkansas Valley community of Coaldale.
Michael Seraphin, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife, said the bear ran off when Patton started fighting back. “The whole thing was over in less than a minute.”
Wildlife officials set a trap for the bear and intend to kill it if it is captured, Seraphin said.
“This bear is now categorized as a dangerous bear because it did injure someone. Our policy is fairly clear that dangerous bears are destroyed,” he said, noting that relocating it would just potentially shift the problem to another place, and zoos aren’t interested.
It was the first reported bear attack in Colorado this year.
“Black bears by nature are one of the more timid species of bear. That’s why we recommend fighting back. This kid did everything right,” Seraphin said.
Last summer, a man encountered a bear while checking a friend’s cabin near Debeque and kicked it to scare it off. And in 2001, the Division of Wildlife reported a couple of bear attacks, including one involving a Texas woman at a campsite near Poncha Springs, just west of where Tuesday’s incident occurred. There was a fatal bear attack in 1993.
Officials could find no reason why the bear invaded the campsite, although one had been spotted in the area recently trying to get into a garbage bin.
“There was no food. We’ve all speculated: Did he take a shower and use some kind of sweet- smelling shampoo? We tried just everything trying to figure out what attracted that bear, and we can’t,” said campground manager Loretto Diaz.
Wildlife officers suggested that perhaps someone had cooked on that site previously and the bear may have been attracted by the lingering scent.
Patton and his family planned to stay at the campground again Tuesday night, but this time he plans to sleep inside a camper.
“I want to see if they catch it tonight,” he said, adding that he now has a good topic for his “What I Did Over the Summer” essay. “They’ll never believe me,” he said.
Staff writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or at slipsher@denverpost.com.
How to avoid bear attacks
Camping
Keep your camp clean.
Store all your food and coolers in your car’s trunk or suspended from a tree.
Dispose of garbage in bear-proof garbage cans where available, or secure it with your food and then pack it out.
Keep your tent and sleeping bag free of all food smells. Store the clothes you wore while cooking or eating with your food.
Burn all grease off grills and camp stoves.
Sleep well away from food areas.
Store any toiletries safely. Their smell may attract bears.
Hiking
Hiking at dawn or dusk may increase your chances of meeting a bear.
Use caution where hearing or visibility is limited, such as brushy areas, near streams or on trails’ blind curves. Avoid berry patches in fall.
Make noise to reduce your chances of surprising a bear. Talk or sing.
Make sure children are close to you or at least within your sight at all times.
For more information online, go to: wildlife.state.co.us/education/LivingWithWildlife/BearCountry.asp
Source: Colorado Division of Wildlife
