Coaldale – A 14-year-old Texas boy fought off a marauding black bear that invaded his tent in a private campground early today, suffering minor injuries and gaining a heck of a story.
Keelan Patton of Pampa, Texas, was asleep in a tent with his cousin about 1 a.am. when the bear crashed through the nylon fabric, biting the youngster on the hand and scratching his face.
“The boy woke from his sleep, and he instinctively struck back with his right hand,” said Michael Seraphin, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife. “Then the bear ran off. The whole thing was over in less than a minute.”
The commotion awoke Keelan’s mother, Jana, who was sleeping in the camper beside the tent at Cutty’s Camping Resort in the rural Arkansas Valley community.
“She reached in, and when she did, her hand came back with blood,” said campground manager Loretto Diaz. “They woke me at 1:44 a.am. and asked how to get to the hospital.”
Patton was treated at the Heart of the Rockies medical center in nearby Salida for a bite wound to his left hand and various scratches and bruises.
It was the first reported bear attack of a human in Colorado this year and a rare encounter with the generally reclusive and docile black bear, Seraphin said.
“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.”
Last summer, a man encountered a bear while checking a friend’s cabin near Debate and was able to kick 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 today’s incident occurred.
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,” Diaz said.
Wildlife officers suggested that perhaps someone had cooked on that site previously, and the bear may have been attracted by the lingering scent.
They set a trap for the bear today 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.
Patton and his family intended to stay at the campground again last night.
They could not be reached for comment today afternoon.
Staff Writer Steve Lipsher can be reached at 970-513-9495 or at slipsher@denverpost.com.
