Bear mauls Colorado sheep herder during nighttime attack

A sheep herder in Colorado was badly injured protecting his flock after a black bear with a taste for mutton mauled him during a savage nighttime attack, officials said.

The 35-year-old victim was asleep near a camp in the Weminuche Wilderness, located about 23 miles northeast of Durango, Colorado, when he was woken up around 1 a.m. Tuesday by a “disturbance” involving his sheep and a black bear, according to a press release from the Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW).

The herder fired a .30-30 caliber rifle at the bear before the 250-pound predator lunged at him.

The man survived the attack but suffered bite wounds to his head, left hand and arm, as well severe cuts to his left hip and scratches on his back, officials said.

Despite his injuries, the sheep herder managed to crawl to his tent and call his cousin, who then summoned help.

“This is an unfortunate incident and we are thankful the victim was able to contact help to get emergency services deployed and that he was able to be extracted to receive necessary medical care,” said CPW Area Wildlife Manager Adrian Archuleta.

First responders raced to the camp to airlift the injured man to Mercy Regional Medical Center. After receiving initial treatment, the victim was flown to Grand Junction for surgery.

There was no immediate word on the patient’s condition, and his name has not been made public.

Wildlife officials learned of the attack three hours later and arrived at the scene near the Burnt Timber Trail by 8:30 a.m. There, they discovered a blood trail and the victim’s abandoned rifle, and collected DNA samples.

“CPW also discovered two dead sheep at the site with wounds consistent with bear depredation,” officials reported.

The officers began searching for the bear with assistance from the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, which sent a team of dogs to track the animal.

Later that evening, the hounds picked up a scent trail and went in pursuit of the bear, chasing it to the Florida River.

Shortly before 11 p.m., a USDA agent following the dogs using GPS signals in their collars cornered and fatally shot the bear.

Because the bear made contact with a human, it is classified under CPW policy as an attack and the agency’s policy is to euthanize the bear.

“This is a difficult part of the job,” Archuleta said. “But when it comes to injuries to humans as a result of a predator attack, human health and safety is our top priority.”

The bear was estimated to be an 8-year-old male weighing about 250 lbs. The animal had wounds on its chest, but officers were not sure if they had been inflicted by the sheep herder. 

DNA samples were collected from the bear and sent to the CPW lab for testing to compare it with samples from the attack scene.

The wildlife agency did discover sheep wool in the bear’s stomach.

“Until we get results back from the lab regarding DNA testing, we can’t 100% confirm that this is the offending bear,” Archuleta said. “But based on the information we have at this point, we feel confident that it is the offending bear.”

This is the first reported bear attack in Colorado so far this year and the first in La Plata County since April 2021.