Bear Attacks Boy In Smoky Mountains
Rangers Kill Bear After Attack
POSTED: 6:12 am EDT August 12, 2008
UPDATED: 6:32 am EDT August 12, 2008
GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Officials at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park say a black bear mauled an 8-year-old Florida boy and the boy’s father was injured while defending him.
LINK: Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Park rangers later killed a bear matching the description of the one in the attack.
Rangers won’t know if they have the right bear until a necropsy is performed at the University of Tennessee.
Park spokesman Bob Miller says the incident began around 7:30 p.m. Monday when the bear approached Evan Pala of Boca Raton, Florida, while he was playing in a creek. Miller says the bear attacked the boy, was driven off and came back a second time.
Miller says the father was able to drive the bear off with rocks and sticks.
The boy suffered some puncture wounds that were serious but not believed to be life-threatending. The father, John Pala, suffered several cuts during the attack.
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