(NewsNation) — A 72-year-old man in Arkansas survived an attack by a 70-pound black bear cub while spreading gravel with his tractor on Wednesday, the state’s first black bear attack in at least 25 years, if not centuries.
Vernon Patton was hospitalized with extensive injuries but was in stable condition, according to an Arkansas Game and Wildlife Commission official.
“It was a pretty severe attack,” Keith Stephens, the agency’s chief of communications, told the Arkansas Times. “It attacked him on his face, his arms, his upper body.”
The bear charged at the man one time before running away, he said. It remained in the are following the attack and officers were able to euthanize it by shooting it.
Officials sent samples from the bear for rabies testing.
This is Arkansas’ first known bear attack in at least 25 years, the duration of Stephens’ tenure, he told the local outlet. In fact, it could be the first since pre-Civil War, which began in 1861.
“We don’t have records back that far, (but) there’s some news articles that talk about bear attacks in the 1850s,” Stephens said. “I’ve been here 25 years and we haven’t had one.”
There have only been 180 fatal bear attacks in North America since 1784, according to BearVault, a bear-resistant cannister product company.
Bear attacks are rare, but black bear attacks are even rarer. Yet, in May, an 89-year-old man and his dog were fatally attacked by a 263-pound one outside his home in southwest Florida. This marked this state’s first deadly black bear attack in its history.