A sheep herder in Colorado suffered severe injuries while protecting his flock from a black bear attack on Tuesday, July 11.
The 35-year-old victim was in the Weminuche Wilderness, about 23 miles northeast of Durango when he was awakened by a confrontation between his sheep and a black bear around 1 am, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).
Despite attempting to ward off the 250-pound bear with his .30-caliber rifle, the herder was injured as the bear lunged at him. Injuries included bite wounds to his head, left hand and arm, cuts to his hip, and scratches on his back. Following the encounter, he reached his tent and contacted his cousin, who alerted emergency services.
CPW Area Wildlife Manager, Adrian Archuleta expressed gratitude for the herder’s quick action in calling for help. First responders arrived at the scene and airlifted the injured herder to Mercy Regional Medical Center. After post-initial treatment, he was transferred to Grand Junction for surgery.
Wildlife officials were alerted to the incident three hours later. Upon arriving at the scene near Burnt Timber Trail, they found a blood trail, the herder’s abandoned rifle and collected DNA samples. They also found two dead sheep with wounds indicative of a bear attack.
Due to that attack, officers began a search through the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service which sent a team of dogs to track the bear. At around 11 pm, the bear was cornered and shot. A sample of DNA was taken and sent to the CPW lab for testing and comparison with the samples from the attack site.