There was ANOTHER attack 2 days ago and we have bears coming on our property now
Black bear chases, bites woman near Forestdale
By: Jo Baeza , The Independent 07/13/2004
'I was running as fast as I could. He was just jogging.'
Victim of bear attack
WHITERIVER - A young black bear chased and bit a woman near Forestdale Tuesday in what appeared to be an entirely unprovoked attack.
It was midday when a University of Arizona student working with the archaeology field school out of Pinedale was conducting a survey near a spring in the Forestdale area. She heard a thump, then saw a young black bear behind her as she was walking down a hill.
She knew enough about bears not to run. She stopped, yelled and waved her arms in an attempt to frighten the bear away. When the bear started toward her in an aggressive manner, she had no choice but to take flight.
The student, who asked that her name be withheld, ran as fast as she could. She said, "The bear was just jogging."
She ran about a half mile across country, fell a few times, and was cut going through some barbed wire fences. The bear was close behind her, pawing at her legs. She said, "I had loose pant legs, so he just got the pant legs with his claws." At one point he got close enough to bite her on the calf.
She said, "I was so scared. I was running as fast as I could. He was just jogging."
When she reached State Route 60 she thought the traffic would frighten the bear, but he didn't seem to be afraid of cars. He chased her across the highway. When a pickup drove up, she waved it down. A couple pulled over and stopped the truck. She jumped in with the bear still coming after her.
The couple wanted her to get in the front seat, as she was bleeding from the bite and wire cuts. When she got down out of the pickup bed to change places, the bear attacked her again. She made it to the cab and closed the door. The bear chased the truck for a short way before giving up.
The couple drove her to the hospital where she was treated and given rabies shots. She said, "I don't know what I would have done if they hadn't stopped."
She was back in Pinedale Wednesday, working on an archaeology project but still shaken by the experience. "It was totally unprovoked," she said. "I didn't have any food; I wasn't wearing any perfume. He just chased me. I'm really lucky. It could have been much worse."
Attempts were made to call the White Mountain Apache Wildlife and Outdoor Recreation Division, but the phones were out Tuesday for a couple of hours. The Arizona Game and Fish Department responded initially, and tribal game and fish officers arrived later in the day.
A spokesman for the tribal game and fish division said, "About 5 p.m. our officers went to the area where the incident had taken place. The Game and Fish had already contacted a bear and lion guide out of Show Low. We called in Manuel Dazen, our Animal Damage Control officer, who came with his dogs."
The guides ran dogs in the area east of State Route 60 where the attack had taken place. Eventually the dogs treed the bear and Officer Jeff Cheney shot it. The head was severed and sent in to the state lab by Indian Health Service to be tested for rabies.
According to the tribal spokesman, unprovoked attacks such as this are rare. The bear did not appear to be sick and had no injuries. They speculate it had been getting food around campsites or garbage dumps and had lost its fear of humans.
©WMICentral 2004
