Thank you for watching Scary Bear Attacks!
Today’s episode
takes us to the beautiful woods of western North Carolina and the backcountry of the
Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
This area is 522,000 acres of mountainous country and, according to geologists, some
of the oldest land formations on earth.
The plant life consists of an amazing canopy composed of Oak, Maple, pine and hickory trees
and a very dense under growth of magnolia, dogwood, holly and azalea bushes amongst many
others.
The array of plant life is both beautiful and aromatic.
The animal life consists of white tailed deer, rabbits, raccoons, possums, beavers and other
small forest dwellers.
The top predator of the area is the black bear.
It is this beautiful and wild backdrop that made the Great Smoky Mountain National Park
the MOST visited national park in the US park system, yes even more than Yellowstone, believe
it or not.
GSMNP had around 12.2 million visitors in 2020.
Patrick Madura was a 43 year old man from Elgin Illinois.
He had his master degree in Biology and was trained as an EMT and firefighter.
Patrick was scheduled to stay at remote Hazel Creek Campground 82 which was reserved for
one person from September 8th through September 11th, 2020.
At remote campgrounds there isn’t always oversight as to who is coming and who is going.
There might be a camp host or a ranger on site or there might be no one around for days.
When a camper makes a reservation, it is more of a verifiable formality than anything rigorously
enforced.
Campers at these kinds of sites wouldn’t have it any other way, as that is why they
are there, for less people and more nature.
Patrick arrived at his chosen camping spot and pitched his tent and rolled out his sleeping
bag according to his plans.
He chose a campsite close to a creek and on the edge of a small meadow but not too far
from the trail so he could have easy access to it when he was ready.
As far as anybody knew, Patrick was enjoying himself and the natural surroundings of the
remote campground he chose.
On September 11th, a small group of hikers passed by on the trail near Patrick’s camp
site, when they noticed his tent and site and decided to investigate.
The campsite seemed eerily quiet as Patrick’s single person tent flap swayed in the breeze.
They looked inside and noticed his sleeping bag placed where it should be and nothing
seemed to be too out of place in the tent.
The hikers then noticed that the grass on the back side of the tent was flattened out.
It looked like there was a wrestling match that occurred there.
But this apparently was much more serious of a confrontation than a friendly wrestling
match, as the hikers observed the grass matted down with a clear drag trail, and there was
blood on the drag trail.
It all seems to lead directly down to the creek.
At this point they noticed a bear across the creek, probably only about thirty yards away.
The bear seemed distracted as it chewed on something obscured by the grass and bushes.
The bear continually glanced toward the hikers and back.
It was then that the hikers decided to leave the area to find a cell signal and call authorities.
They finally reached someone by 7 PM and investigators were sent out the next day.
As investigators and officials arrive at the remote camping site, they observe a 240 pound
male black bear scavenging off the partially decomposed remains of Patrick Madura.
The bear was euthanized and its corpse sent off for analysis.
Patrick’s remains were collected and sent to the coroner for analysis as well.
The coroner's report took just over a year to complete and compile.
In the examination, the coroner focused on the reaction of the tissues around puncture
and bite wounds.
It was noted that the wounds were received before death had occurred, as the tissues
at the wound sites hemorrhaged.
Patrick exhibited lacerated puncture wounds and blunt force trauma to his head, neck and
nearly all other portions of his body.
His ribs were fractured during the attack as they also exhibited hemorrhaging.
His left lung also had bruising, hemorrhaging and blunt force trauma.
Patrick’s scalp had lacerations as well as his finger, back and legs.
The bear bit him from head to toe.
His brain, heart and lungs showed no evidence of any natural disease which means he was
in good health overall.
Patrick’s fatal bear attack was only the second in the Great Smoky Mountain National
Park’s 80 year history.
Since 1990 there have been 57 black bears euthanized in the park mostly for malnourishment
and injury.
The park does its best to make sure visitors are safe by recommending hikers use the aerial
storage cables provided by the park to cache their food, educating visitors on proper bear
response and closing backcountry campsites whenever bear activity is high in the area.
Additional precautions include hiking in groups of three or more, carrying bear spray, following
backcountry closures, storing food appropriately and keeping your distance from bears.
Authorities say if you are attacked by a black bear, you should defend yourself with anything
available.
You should also look large by raising your hands above you and standing tall, and finally,
do not run or turn away from a bear as this may stimulate a predatory response.
Thank you for watching Scary Bear Attacks and we hope that you stay safe, especially
in bear country!