A bear attacked a 35-year-old man near a camp in Colorado’s Weminuche Wilderness on Tuesday morning.
The victim, a sheep herder working on a grazing allotment, sustained bite wounds to his head, left hand and arm, according to a Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) news release. The Department also noted that he suffered severe lacerations to his left hip and scratches on his back.
CPW responded Tuesday morning to a report of a bear attack on a sheep herder in a wilderness area northeast of Durango.
The victim was treated for severe wounds Tuesday and released from a Grand Junction hospital Wednesday afternoon.
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At 1 a.m., the victim reported being awakened by a disturbance involving his sheep and a black bear, leading him to fire shots at the bear before it attacked him, per CPW.
Following the attack, the news release noted that the victim crawled to his tent and called his cousin for help. He was then promptly airlifted to Mercy Regional Medical Center and later flown to Grand Junction for surgery, CPW reported. (RELATED: Pennsylvania Black Bear Attack Injures Two Young Children)
CPW Area Wildlife Manager Adrian Archuleta expressed gratitude that “the victim was able to contact help to get emergency services deployed and that he was able to be extracted to receive necessary medical care,” per the news release.
CPW wildlife officers arrived on the scene by 8:30 a.m., finding a blood trail, the victim’s rifle, and collected DNA samples, according to the department.
Two dead sheep were also discovered with bear-inflicted wounds, per CPW.
CPW enlisted a team of dogs to search for the bear and located the bear’s scent on the south side of the creek drainage, leading to a pursuit toward the Florida River, CPW reported.
At 10:53 p.m., the bear was shot and killed by an APHIS agent, according to the department.
DNA samples and evidence from the bear will be tested at the CPW Wildlife Health Lab in Fort Collins, per the news release.
This incident is the first reported bear attack in Colorado this year and the first in La Plata County since April 2021, CPW reported.