BRYCE WOODLANDS, Utah — A 43-year-old construction worker is recovering in the hospital after being attacked by a 300-pound black bear while working at a cabin site in Bryce Woodlands, Utah.
Nate Peterson was bitten and scratched by the bear Tuesday night, suffering muscle damage to his left arm.
"Crazy bear. I was just sitting there minding my own business," Peterson said. "Bear walked up and hit the side of my bed. Then he came over and jumped up on my bed."
The attack continued as the bear pursued Peterson despite his attempts to scare it away.
"And then he jumped down and bit my arm and I went to screaming and threw him off and started throwing stuff at him and tried to get him away, and he just kept following me," Peterson said.
“It's a whole other experience,” he added. “It's nothing like getting bit by a dog or getting thrown off of a horse or anything.”
Speaking of horses, Peterson and his wife Amber say they have five of them along with half a dozen cows, and two girls and a boy.
Amber said she got a call as she was leaving work from her husband that she had the head to the hospital after he was attacked by a bear.
“I thought he was joking, but he's like, ‘No, I'm not joking,' and I'm like, 'OK, I'm on my way.’”
After an initial stay at Garfield Memorial Hospital on Wednesday, Peterson returned to the emergency room at Sevier Valley Hospital Thursday with an infection in the wound. He will remain hospitalized for several days.
Peterson is from the small Sevier County town of Koosharem, population 310.
Wildlife officials tracked and euthanized the bear on Wednesday.
Adam Kavalunas with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said the bear may have been displaced by the nearby France Canyon Fire, which has burned more than 7,600 acres.
"The bear could have been displaced by the fire, it was only a couple miles away," he said. "It's also shaping up to be a kind of a hot and dry summer. It can be scarce this time of year, so bears are out roaming around."
Kavalunas noted that such incidents are uncommon in the region.
"We've only had about eight to 10 like this in the previous decades," Kavalunas said.
This wasn't Peterson's first encounter with a black bear.
"Three times," Peterson said when asked about previous bear encounters. "They just walked up, looked and turned around and walked off... usually they get a whiff of you and they leave. But this son of a [expletive] just kept chasing us down."
Peterson is no stranger to adversity. His identical twin died of ALS eight years ago.
When asked what advice he would give others who might face a similar situation with a bear, Peterson was direct: "Don't give up. Just fight."
Peterson was part of a four-person crew building cabins in the Bryce Woodlands community when the attack occurred.
The Peterson family has established a GoFundMe to help with Nate's medical costs following the bear attack. You can find the fundraiser here.
The Division of Wildlife Resources reminds people that black bears can be found across Utah, and there are certain things you can do if you encounter one:
- Stand your ground: Never back up, lie down or play dead. Stay calm and give the bear a chance to leave. Prepare to use your bear spray or another deterrent.
- Don't run away or climb a tree. Black bears are excellent climbers and can run up to 35 mph — you cannot outclimb or outrun them.
- Know bear behavior. If a bear stands up, grunts, moans or makes other sounds, it's not being aggressive. These are the ways a bear gets a better look or smell and expresses its interest.
- If a black bear attacks, always fight back. And never give up! People have successfully defended themselves with almost anything: rocks, sticks, backpacks, water bottles and even their hands and feet.
