FFC
08-18-2009, 08:50 AM
Crazy story happened just a few hours north of me:
http://www.redding.com/news/2009/aug/18/bear-mauls-bowhunter/
HAYFORK - A bowhunter was mauled Saturday by the 400-pound black bear he thought he'd killed.
Eric Huff, 35, of Hayfork had shot the bear with an arrow after spotting it while deer hunting on opening day, said DeWayne Little, a state Department of Fish and Game warden. Having missed the bear's heart, he let the animal walk down a creek near Hayfork, hoping it would die from its wound.
Huff and some friends tracked the bear, found it and shot it two more times with arrows, Little said. They then went up to the big, cinnamon-colored body lying in a heap.
"They thought it was dead, but as they approached, it sprang up," Little said.
The bear went after Huff, who jumped behind a bush, Little said. The bear went for Huff's neck but sunk its teeth into his left bicep as he put his arm up to block the bite.
Huff pushed the weakened bear off him with his feet, Little said. While Huff was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Redding, DFG Warden Paul Cardova and one of his friends found the bear dead near where the attack occurred.
Little interviewed Huff at the hospital. He was released from the hospital Sunday. Little said the investigation into the attack is still ongoing.
DFG Lt. Scott Willems said the incident is a reminder that wounded animals can be dangerous. He said a similar bear mauling occurred in Igo three years ago.
William Pinole, then 61, shot a bear three times with a shotgun as it raided his chicken coop. The bear charged Pinole and clawed the man's face and left arm and punctured his bladder with a bite to the abdomen. Pinole survived the attack.
"It's the same type of situation, where the bear was shot but only wounded," Willems said.
http://www.redding.com/news/2009/aug/18/bear-mauls-bowhunter/
HAYFORK - A bowhunter was mauled Saturday by the 400-pound black bear he thought he'd killed.
Eric Huff, 35, of Hayfork had shot the bear with an arrow after spotting it while deer hunting on opening day, said DeWayne Little, a state Department of Fish and Game warden. Having missed the bear's heart, he let the animal walk down a creek near Hayfork, hoping it would die from its wound.
Huff and some friends tracked the bear, found it and shot it two more times with arrows, Little said. They then went up to the big, cinnamon-colored body lying in a heap.
"They thought it was dead, but as they approached, it sprang up," Little said.
The bear went after Huff, who jumped behind a bush, Little said. The bear went for Huff's neck but sunk its teeth into his left bicep as he put his arm up to block the bite.
Huff pushed the weakened bear off him with his feet, Little said. While Huff was taken to Mercy Medical Center in Redding, DFG Warden Paul Cardova and one of his friends found the bear dead near where the attack occurred.
Little interviewed Huff at the hospital. He was released from the hospital Sunday. Little said the investigation into the attack is still ongoing.
DFG Lt. Scott Willems said the incident is a reminder that wounded animals can be dangerous. He said a similar bear mauling occurred in Igo three years ago.
William Pinole, then 61, shot a bear three times with a shotgun as it raided his chicken coop. The bear charged Pinole and clawed the man's face and left arm and punctured his bladder with a bite to the abdomen. Pinole survived the attack.
"It's the same type of situation, where the bear was shot but only wounded," Willems said.