An 8-year-old boy was attacked by a small male black bear while hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The bear attacked as the boy was crossing a stream. The father of the boy wrestled the bear off his son, grabbing the bear by its jaws and dragged it away.
The boy suffered minor injuries (35 stitches) and was released from the hospital the next day. Rangers tracked the bear down after the incident. When the bear became aggressive toward them, it was shot.
An estimated 1800 black bear live in the GSMNP, but bear attacks like this are rare.
<a href=”http://www.nps.gov/grsm/”> nps.gov/grsm</a>
