RE: Bear attack in Eastern PA
By Christian Berg
Of The Morning Call
There are rules for keeping safe in bear country, and the campers involved in Saturday's harrowing black bear encounter at Hickory Run State Park broke just about all of them.
''They did everything wrong,'' said Fred Merluzzi, the Pennsylvania Game Commission's wildlife conservation officer for Carbon County. ''They came to bear country, and they came to bear country ill-prepared.''
Kathleen Feeney, 21, Brian Scollon, 19, and Robert Brennan, 21, all of Philadelphia, saw a black bear at their campsite about 7:30 p.m. Saturday and took off running through the woods.
The bear followed, captured Feeney, tore off her clothes and covered her with brush — a tactic sometimes used to hide food stashes. Although the bear eventually left, Feeney suffered some nasty scratches on her back, a possible bite to the head and a puncture wound in one leg.
Such incidents are extremely rare in Pennsylvania. A black bear has never killed anyone in the state, and fewer than 30 bear attacks have occurred in 30 years, commission spokesman Jerry Feaser said. It was the first such incident at Hickory Run, park officials said.
The last bear attack in Pennsylvania is believed to have occurred in June in Susquehanna County, in which a 43-year-old woman suffered multiple bite and claw wounds after being attacked by a bear in her back yard. In that case, commission officials believe the bear might have had a nearby cub it was trying to protect, which Feaser said is typical of bear encounters in which serious injuries occur.
Saturday's incident at Hickory Run did not result in severe injuries, but it serves as a frightening reminder of what can happen when humans and bears clash.
Commission officials say one of the campers' biggest mistakes was running away, which likely triggered the bear's predatory instinct to chase prey.
''They had no idea what to do,'' said Merluzzi, who is conducting the agency's investigation into the incident. ''The way I am looking at it, their response…is the direct cause of what happened.''
Instead of running, those who encounter bears should raise their arms above their heads, make themselves appear as big as possible and slowly back away from the area.
''Don't turn your back,'' said Mark Ternent, the commission's black bear biologist. ''Always keep your eye on the bear so you know what's going on.''
While it's a good idea to keep an eye on the bear, avoid making direct eye contact, which the bear may interpret as a challenge.
Running from the bear was one in a series of poor decisions made by the trio, Merluzzi said. Feeney, Scollon and Brennan arrived at Hickory Run about 2 p.m. Saturday and set up their tent in a no-camping area near Hawk Falls, a popular spot off Route 534 near Albrightsville. Merluzzi said the area is not routinely patrolled by park rangers and has a well-worn bear trail through the mountain laurel.
''It's a very apparent trail,'' he said. ''Why do you think they don't allow camping down there?''
The trio said they were returning from fishing in Mud Run, a nearby trout stream, when the encounter began. Feeney arrived at the campsite first, saw the bear and raced back toward Scollon and Brennan, with the bear in hot pursuit.
Merluzzi said the bear probably wouldn't have been there in the first place if the three hadn't left food out in the open. ''It appears they had some Spaghettios earlier, and that was not covered,'' he said. ''Their actions drew the bear into that area.''
Those hiking or camping in bear country should store food in the trunk of their cars or hang it high in a tree where a bear can't reach it. Food should never be left in the open or stored in sleeping areas.
Officials said the campers also made a mistake in not staying together. After running from the bear and wading across Mud Run, Brennan tried to get help by climbing a steep embankment to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Feeney and Scollon, meanwhile, hid behind a large tree.
''Stay together,'' Ternent said. ''You are more intimidating as a unit than you are as three independent people.''
Merluzzi said Feeney and Scollon also crawled around in the thick laurel that dominates the area. ''At that point, they made themselves smaller than the bear,'' he said. ''A bear's prey items, which include deer, are smaller and are on all fours.''