smokymtnsteve
10-10-2003, 16:00
DENVER, July 14 (UPI) -- A black bear mauled two Rocky Mount National Park campers during the weekend, leaving them with torn scalps and forcing the closing of several campsites.
The Denver Post said Patrick Finan, 22, of Boulder, Colo., and Tim Schuett, 23, of Glen Ellyn, Ill., were attacked as they slept early Sunday.
Finan was bitten on his forehead and scalp, while Schuett -- awakened by Finan's screams -- was scratched on his head.
Park rangers closed several backcountry camping sites in the Odessa Gorge area of the park and were trying to locate the bear.
The newspaper said the last fatality in the park from a black bear attack occurred in 1971.
The Denver Post said Patrick Finan, 22, of Boulder, Colo., and Tim Schuett, 23, of Glen Ellyn, Ill., were attacked as they slept early Sunday.
Finan was bitten on his forehead and scalp, while Schuett -- awakened by Finan's screams -- was scratched on his head.
Park rangers closed several backcountry camping sites in the Odessa Gorge area of the park and were trying to locate the bear.
The newspaper said the last fatality in the park from a black bear attack occurred in 1971.