Sam’s Throne, a popular campground in the Ozark-St. Francis National Forest in Arkansas, was the site of tragedy this week. On October 2, local sheriffs found a 60-year-old man deceased in one of the campsites, likely from a bear attack. The suspected animal was tracked and euthanized by the sheriff’s department, with assistance from locals and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
The incident marks Arkansas’s second bear-related fatality in a month.
What Happened
According to a press release from the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, authorities received a call from the victim’s son. He knew his father was camping at Sam’s Throne, but hadn’t heard from him for several days. So he asked the sheriff’s office to perform a welfare check.
When law enforcement arrived, they located the man’s campsite. They reported that it “had been disturbed and there was evidence of a struggle and injury. There were also drag marks leading from the campground into the woods.”
Authorities quickly began searching the area and found the man, deceased, a few yards away.
All signs pointed to a bear attack. Apparently, a few days prior, the man had sent photos to his family of a bear in his camp. The sheriff’s office stated that “the body of the deceased had extensive injuries consistent with those expected from a large carnivore attack.”
“Until the Arkansas Crime Lab completes the autopsy, we can’t 100% say it was a bear, but everything strongly indicates it,” Newton County Sheriff Glen Wheeler stated. “We know without a doubt that a bear was in camp with our victim, and the injuries absolutely are consistent with a bear attack. This is a highly unusual case.”
Hunting the Bear
On October 5, cameras at Sam’s Throne captured images of a bear that looked similar to the one in question. In cooperation with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and local hunters and their dogs, the sheriff’s office worked to locate the animal.
“After the bear was treed by the dogs, the hunters, Sheriff Wheeler, and Arkansas Game and Fish personnel were able to get a better look at the bear and determine there was an extremely high probability it was the same bear,” according to a press release.
Authorities killed the bear and sent it to Little Rock for a necropsy and DNA testing to confirm it was indeed the bear from the attack. They’ll also perform tests to see if the bear had rabies or other conditions that prompted the aggressive behavior.
“I feel extremely confident this is the bear we have photographs of from the scene of the attack. We knew the bear in the photos was a male, and this one is too. It matches the size of the photographed bear and has the same facial colorations,” Sheriff Wheeler said.
“Not to mention, it was back in the same area where the attack happened. That area is so heavily used by humans that most bears will avoid it. To be 100 percent certain, we will have to wait on possible DNA matches,” Wheeler said. “This is a relief to me and the community, and I thank God for this outcome. This was a dangerous bear.”
Sam’s Throne Campground remains closed until further notice. For updates, visit the area’s Forest Service website.
How Common Are Bear Attacks in Arkansas?
In an interview with GearJunkie, Arkansas Fish and Game’s chief of communications, Keith Stephens, estimated that there are 5,000 to 6,000 black bears in the state.
The incident marks the second bear-related fatality in Arkansas in recent months. On September 3, a juvenile black bear mauled 72-year-old Vernon Patton in Franklin County, Ark. Patton died from his injuries on September 15.
Before these two incidents, Stephens said that the last known fatal bear attack in the state took place in 1892.
“[That] tells you a lot about us having a good, healthy bear population, and we haven’t had issues like this before,” he said. “One thing that we need to reiterate to people, though, is that they are wild animals. Don’t pretend like they’re a pet or something because they aren’t.”
The sheriff’s office urged campers to follow bear aware practices, such as keeping food secured and away from campsites.
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