Local girl just got attacked by a Black Bear while deer hunting in Central Pa.

[Mystro]

A local girl down the road from me was attacked by a black bear on Monday during a deer drive in central Pa.

The story from the local paper:
Black bear mauls 18-year-old hunter
December 11, 2013
Williamsport Sun-Gazette

MILLHALL - An 18-year-old girl is in fair condition after being mauled by a bear while hunting Monday afternoon, state police and hospital officials said.

Camille Marie Bomboy underwent surgery at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville and, according to reports, is recovering well from her injuries.

According to state police, the victim suffered multiple deep tissue bites to her arms and shoulders and a deep laceration to her head. She was taken first to Lock Haven Hospital and later transferred to Geisinger.

The attack occurred along the Jacksonville Road in Porter Township, Trooper Darryl Martin of the state police at Lamar said.
Bomboy, of Mill Hall, was hunting deer at the family farm at 7786 Jacksonville Road, police said, and was driving deer for a large hunting party when the confrontation occurred.

Police said Bomboy saw three black bear cubs run past her during the drive, turned around and saw a large black bear charging her.

The bear knocked her to the ground and began to bite her, but her stepfather, Mike Corter, who was nearby and witnessed the attack, scared the bear off the teen.

Game commission officials said Corter fired a weapon into the air, and another hunter in the group is believed to have put a round in the animal, which ran off after the attack.

[RUT]

>>Police said Bomboy saw three black bear cubs run past her during the drive<<

And there you have it! Sometimes you're just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

[Mike Irwin]

I know that area fairly well. Had an aunt and uncle who lived in Mill Hall, and I hunted in that area a number of times.

The bear population has been exploding in Central Pennsylvania for some years, and that's one of the areas that has seen a hefty increase.

[NoSecondBest]

This sounds like a case of a mother bear trying to protect her cubs. If she had wanted the girl dead, she'd be dead. For some reason, the bears in NY Southern Tier and Pa. are not hibernating yet. I saw one last Sunday morning walking on my property. I keep cameras up all summer and right through hunting season. I'm seeing ten times the number of bear I'd see twenty years ago. Not only that, the locals seem to think it's fun to feed them. I've had a number of encounters the last few years where I bump into bears in the woods and they don't run away. Back in August I was checking my trail cameras and while downloading the pics off one I wasn't paying attention. When I closed the camera up and looked right in front of me, at about fifteen feet, a very large bear was standing there watching me. I hollered at him (I believe it was a large boar) and he didn't even pay any attention to me. He finally realized I wasn't going to give him something to eat and walked away. Back in spring turkey I bumped into a sow and three cubs and the cubs ran up a nearby tree. Momma ran down hill and stopped about fifty yards away and looked back. About then the cubs all started bawling and she ran back up hill. She stopped right at the base of the tree and started huffing at me and bouncing up and down on her front feet. I was already back peddling as fast as I could and got the heck out of there. I was a hundred yards away and they were still bawling. She didn't want to harm me but she had very strong instincts to protect her young. Yup, way too many bear out there and too many fools feeding them. They just aren't afraid like they should be. I think we've moved down on the food chain a notch or two.

[Dirty_Harry]

Sounds like you guys need an extended bear season. Put the fear back into the bear!

[Mystro]

For those who do not know this part of central Pennsylvania, it is a very mountainous in rural part of the state filled with isolated farms and deep woods.
It is also the area that some of the largest black bear in the world are taken. This particular county and like Lycoming county are always the number one in the number two highest black bear kills in the season. It is very common to see black bears weighing well about 500 pounds with some at 700-900lbs.

[tdoyka]

seems as tho bears outnumber the deer in this state.

[MTT TL]

She is lucky to be alive. I hope she makes a full recovery.


Some days you get the bear....

[AllenJ]

Those are some big bears!

Ashamed that stuff like this happens but we are hunters and are putting ourselves into their environment. I hope she makes a full recovery and this does not stop her from hunting in the future.

[4V50 Gary]

700-900 lbs is a grizzly size black bear. Darn but you grow them big in PA!

[buck460XVR]

Game commission officials said Corter fired a weapon into the air, and another hunter in the group is believed to have put a round in the animal, which ran off after the attack.

One report I heard was that the brothers followed the bear after the attack in an attempt to kill it. Once they were told that doing so was illegal, since the bear was no longer a threat to them, their story changed.

[bamaranger]

Thirty years ago, early 80's, front of my career, I was helping with a B-bear study in VA (Shenandoah NP) and the lead biologist was from PA. He made about the same comments, that some of the biggest b-bears around were in PA. I also listened to a lecture from a renown B-bear guy from PSU, mid seventies, that claimed same.

Lil'Sis shot a b-bear in PA in the early 80's that was a book bear, I have the skull in my den. B&C, but she never entered it.

I did a good bit of late winter hiking and camping when I was up there. Hunting season over, city folks back to town, bears in the den. Lots of pvt camp houses and summer cottages, passed from generation to generation, on small in holdings dot the state game, forest, and national forest lands. Many, if not most, had signs of bear damage. EVERYBODY and their cousin had a snowmobile.

[spacecoast]

Saw a large bear near our property in NW Pa this summer. They love bird feeders.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Sad thing when someone gets mauled.

Absolutely. My best wishes go out to this young Lady and for her quick recovery.

S/S

[Double Naught Spy]

No doubt that the gal was part of a deer drive likely didn't help at all. Deer drives don't just drive deer. Lots of game gets scared up. So you have scared/agitated bears caught up in the drive as well. As noted, sounds like a mother protecting her cubs, and she thought they were the ones being attacked. The bears don't know if it is a deer drive or a bear drive, LOL.

[Mystro]

This is are terrain in central Pa. It is called the Pa. Grand Canyon. Where the big isolated mountains meet the farm lands give big bear and deer a place to never see a human. Most of north central Pa is very wild and isolated. Think, Montana of the East Coast.
Field and Stream and other hunting magazines have done stories on this legendary bear hunting area.





The big boars are not scared of humans from my experience. I have had several 500lbs boars in my back yard that runs from nothing. Pellet guns or noise makers barely get a glance. A rubber tipped blunt arrow from my Mathews bow is the only thump that will get them on their way. They would wait just inside my woods where I couldnt see them and watch for me to take my garbage can up to the top of the road. I have had several times where they would pop their jaws and push trees while watching me take my garbage up. I have learned to read the bears body language over the years and 97% of the time they are bluffing. The other 3% will make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up even when carrying a 12 gauge pump with 3" slugs. I have had several barrel traps from the Pa. Game in my drive way to trap them but the big bears are very smart. They even told me that if they do catch them and relocate them, they will find their way back to my area in a few weeks. The excessive bear presence seems to come in cycles of about every 6 to 8 years around my house with average sightings every year. I will see bear in bow season all the time but in the 4 days of bear season they disappear.

[Slopemeno]

That's some beautiful county. I've flown over that area many times on my way to the east coast.

[Sure Shot Mc Gee]

Must be some pretty good size blueberry patches down in those valleys for em to get that BIG.
Pretty country though. Personally I don't like bears. They've always been a nuisance for me and like you Mystro I too have seen both boar & sow often showing boldness beyond their own good. Yup. But I too have got a cure all remedy for those occasions also. Once they get a dose in my yard never have I seen one return for a second. Anyway. again My Best to your neighbors daughter.

[Mike Irwin]

"He made about the same comments, that some of the biggest b-bears around were in PA. I also listened to a lecture from a renown B-bear guy from PSU, mid seventies, that claimed same."

That was Dr. Gary Alt.

I was bitten by a black bear once, many years ago.

My high school bio teacher knew Dr. Alt, so he had him come to my school outside of Harrisburg to do a presentation. He brought two orphaned bear cubs with him.

I got to feed one its bottle, and when it finished I put the bottle down and started scratching it under the chin. It must have been still hungry, because it grabbed my index finger and chomped down... HARD.

It put one of those sharp milk teeth through my fingernail. I couldn't decide what I wanted to do first -- pass out or puke.

When the cub found out my finger wasn't a nipple, it started to caterwaul like you wouldn't believe.

Except for my finger, that was a neat day!

[AllenJ]

^^^ Oh how times have changed! Can you imagine what would happen today if something like that were to occur. I bet it would make world news

[mete]

Another factor is that sows can have up to FIVE cubs !! Not like the old two per sow. The ones we inspected were 4 healthy all male cubs in Pike Co. It was that the record PA bear was 900 lbs but there may be higher weights.now.
Like deer the problem comes when idiots feed them .Does anyone know of cases where feeders were fined heavily ?

[buck460XVR]

Sounds like the young girl is doing well and will completely recover. She apparently went home before going to the hospital, was fully alert and able to walk without assistance. Injuries were primarily to her ear and upper arms. She's been an active hunter since she was 10. She's a lucky girl. Seems to hold no malice towards the mother bear protecting her cubs.

[ChasingWhitetail91]

Glad to hear she recovered well. Kind of a bad situation to deal with afterwards. Do you let the bear go and hope it was just a case of a mother protecting its cubs, or kill the bear and most likely its three cubs?

[Mystro]

Here is the follow up to this story:
http://www.lockhaven.com/page/conten....html?nav=5009

[Wyosmith]

Black Bears the size of grizzlies would make me nervous

Come to think of it.......grizzlies the size of grizzlies can make me nervous too.