Hey this is Addicus and I wanted to thank Megan Rabish for suggesting the topic of today’s
episode. I also wanted to thank our Patreons Chris Marlar, Fluffy Feet, Greg Schaefer, Gabrielle,
April Donovan and Drone Adventures! Thank you for your support! Now, let's get on with our episode!
Welcome back to Scary Bear Attacks! Today’s episode takes us to the forested hills surrounding
Harrisburg Pennsylvania, USA. The area consists of rolling hills covered with dense forests of pine,
sugar maple, black cherry, aspen, birch, white oak, hemlock, and ash. The ground cover is so
thick you couldn’t throw a rock through it. Not all of the area is like this though because in the
valleys between the mountains, there are housing developments. Though the residents don’t clear
their lots, they are maintained and not like the brush up on the hills. The state of Pennsylvania
has around 13 million people but is prime habitat for many animals, including black bears.
In the fall black bears need to consume around 20,000 calories each day to get ready for winter
hibernation and with about 110 calories per acorn, bears here have plenty to eat.
This makes the bears very large and also allows for a very high carrying capacity.
At 3 AM on October 4th in 2011, 44 year old Richard Moyer Jr., known as Rich, was getting
ready to go to work at a local warehouse as his wife and 10 year old son, Josh slept upstairs.
His half husky and pit bull named Brindie was let outside to go potty and immediately
ran near the woods around the house and started barking. This wasn’t the usual bark. There was an
urgency to Brindies barking that let Rich know something wasn’t quite right in the backyard.
He grabbed a spotlight and started shining the light through the morning fog.
He didn’t immediately see anything concerning but after a few seconds Brindie came sprinting
back toward him on the porch, followed closely by a very angry sow black bear.
Before Rich could react, Brindie streaked into the house toward him, followed by the bear.
Now, Richard Moyer Jr is a big man. He stands 6’6” tall and weighs over 320 pounds.
He is bigger than most bears but this was one very angry momma. The only thing Rich could see
while he wrestled with the bear was black fur. The yelling and growling as well as the ruckus
on the porch woke Rich’s wife, Angie. As she came downstairs she could see the bear on top of Rich
with Brindie acting as a distraction, charging in and out and holding her own. Just as Angie
approached to help Rich, the bear knocked her to the floor of the porch. The sow then chomped onto
her leg and dragged her outside onto the patio. Rich got back to his feet and staggered to the
patio. He immediately saw the bear now on top of his wife attacking her. Rich dove
into the fray by putting his head down so she wouldn’t claw his face, and jumping on the bear.
The distraction worked, but the bad part was she was attacking Rich again,
and this time she was going to kill him. She clawed him severely over his arms and head,
then she bit into his scalp. Rich could feel the sow tearing his hair from his head. She
bit into the back of his head and tried to peel his scalp from his skull like you peel an orange.
Rich was sure she was going to kill him. She bit his arms several times then she suddenly stopped.
The sow slowly began ambling back toward the forest leaving the couple and their
dog confused and bleeding. Rich immediately calls his father who is a retired truck driver.
Senior listened in stunned trepidation as Rich panted and stammered that he and his wife were
attacked by a bear in their house and were both injured. Like the caring father he is,
he rushed to his son's house and was aghast at the sight. Rich was slouched in front of the kitchen
sink drenched in blood and hyperventilating. Richard could tell his son was beginning to go
into shock and Angie wasn’t fairing much better. The couple was taken to Harrisburg Hospital.
Rich received 70 staples to close his wounds and put his scalp back together. He was bitten
at least 20 different times. Angie had a chunk of flesh bitten from her butt and she was bitten on
her breast and her body. They were treated and released to loved ones to heal their wounds.
About 5 hours after the attack Richard finally realized how badly this situation
could have turned out and broke down. Authorities attempted to catch the bear
with a trap baited with doughnuts, but there was no source of information indicating if
their attempts were successful. They indicated if they did catch it, it would be relocated as long
as it is healthy. If it was sick or injured or had rabies then they would euthanize it.
They believe that this bear was probably a sow bear with cubs who believed the dog was
a threat and was acting in defense of them. There are estimated to be 18000 black bears
in Pennsylvania currently and there hasn’t been a fatal bear attack in this area in over 100 years.
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