Posted on 08/10/2015 9:39:19 AM PDT by Perseverando
A Midlothian woman survived a bear attack Saturday at Douthat State Park in Bath County that left her with 14 stitches in her back and 14 in her leg.
An adult female black bear believed to be the attacker was tracked and killed early Sunday. The bear attack prompted the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation to close several miles of trails on the west side of state Route 629, which was scheduled to be reopened today.
Laurie Cooksey was hiking Saturday with three of her four children after a day of canoeing and camping the night before. When they reached the Tuscarora Overlook and took a selfie, rain clouds were quickly forming, she said. So about 6 p.m., the foursome headed down the steep, windy trail with Cooksey and her 19-year-old son Ellis walking ahead of her daughter Hannah Cate, 16, and son Blake, 22.
Within five minutes, Ellis spotted the black bear peering at them from behind a tree about 10 yards away, Laurie Cooksey said. Almost immediately, the bear charged.
They retreated in the opposite direction, but the bear caught up and headed them off.
He was fast. He was just so fast, she said.
The bear clawed Cookseys back and knocked her to the ground off the trail.
The saving grace was it was raining hard and the leaves were slippery, she said.
They both slid in the leaves and she found herself slightly uphill from the bear when it bit her twice on the leg.
Cooksey kicked just enough for the bear to lose its balance on the incline and slide far enough away for Cooksey to make a run for it, she said.
When they caught up with the other two who were unaware of the incident, the bear reappeared.
(Excerpt) Read more at roanoke.com ...
No reason you should have.
I just happened to click on the link because I saw “Midlothian” and assumed it was the Texas one. Who knew there were so many others?
Ewwwwwwwww! I never liked Queen or their music.
That was so bad. You are sick. LOL!
This bear probably had become habituated to humans and come to associate them with easy food. Truly wild bears avoid people. It’s a shame when bears have to be killed because some previous hiker/camper has practiced poor hygeine. A fed bear is a dead bear.
If the family had been better prepared they could have cut out the "middlemen."
And in keeping with the advice on how to defend against bears, it looks like this would be the best way to:
DID THE BEAR HAVE A NAME!?!?!?!
OMG!!!!!
Stepped on it..then squished it.
And apparently a town in Virginia as well.
Absolutely. "Cecile" Like lions and tigers, bears generally introduce themselves as follows "Hi. I'm Cecile (or whatever) and I'm going to kill you and eat you (but not necessarily in that order) if you're the slowest one in your group."
Maybe this will give him hope and help him to survive until he can be united with another mother black bear who might adopt him into her family where he can have a new family with little brothers and sisters and learn not to try and eat the tourists.
Bahama Islands, too. I once mistook NASA’S robo-voice for a Bahamian.
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