NEW YORK – A 12-year-old boy from the Boy Scouts He had a tremendous scare when during a camping trip in New York he had an encounter with a black bear and the minor’s leg ended up in the jaw of the animal.
The bear was wandering around a campground late at night at Harriman State Park in Rockland and Orange counties, looking for food, when he ran into a group of Boy Scouts from Cooperstown.
“He moved my friend John and then he moved me, but instead of grabbing my sleeping bag, he grabbed my leg and bit me,” said Henry Ayers.
The 12-year-old boy was sleeping under the stars with his friends when the bear woke them all up.
“It was absolutely crazy!” Enrique said. “Mostly I sat up and screamed! There was a giant bear leaning over me. I screamed and kicked it and it reared back a little bit.”
Fortunately, Henry was not seriously injured, except for a few scratches on his leg. The group headed to a nearby shelter to sleep the rest of the night, but the bear wasn’t done. He returned hours later, still looking for some food, although the Scouts made sure to put everything out of his reach.
“A little after 4 in the morning was the last time he came through and I thought I’d get my phone out and take a video and he was trying to reach out,” said Scout Master Diana Nicols. “He came very close to reaching another hiker’s bag.”
The group went on their scheduled walk the next day. Park officials later found the bear and, in accordance with state rules, had to put it down.
“I wish they didn’t euthanize him,” Henry said. “He associated Us with food. But we know it was our fault, not the bear’s fault. It was just, you know, being a bear.”
Meanwhile, Henry has a story he’ll never forget: an important lesson about how humans should protect wildlife. He said he plans to go camping again very soon, at Boy Scout camp this summer.
“I’m not afraid of camping anymore! And I’m not afraid of bears, it’s completely fine,” he said.
We tell you the details.
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