Picked this little story up from the Trailplace website. Damn lucky person. Good that they remembered a bear's nose is quite sensitive.


August 12, 2003
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VERNON TOWNSHIP, N.J., Aug. 11 - A hiker bashed a bear in the nose with her elbow, escaping with minor injuries after the animal knocked her to the ground, a state parks official said today.

The 18-year-old hiker then ran off the trail and hid behind a tree, said Jack Kaskey, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"The bear kept looking for her, standing on its hind legs, grunting and sniffing the air," Mr. Kaskey said. "It circled the area she was hiding in and eventually wandered off."

The woman was attacked about 12:30 p.m. Sunday while she was hiking alone on the Wingdam Trail in Wawayanda State Park in Sussex County, he said.

She ran, but the bear tackled her, and grabbed her right side and left leg with its paws, Mr. Kaskey said. The bear became startled when she struck its nose, allowing her to run and hide until it left the area, he said.

The trail remained closed today and a trap was set in an effort to capture the bear alive.

"My biologists tell me that this was a classic predatory attack," Mr. Kaskey said. "Apparently, it was planning to eat her."