Man survives bear attack outside his Pennsylvania home
MONTOUR COUNTY, Pa. (WOLF) — A Pennsylvania man is continuing to heal from injuries involving a bear attack that happened in his garage.
John Swartz encountered the bear moments outside his Montour County home.
Swartz walked into his garage to turn off a water hose, unknowingly startling a hungry bear rummaging through his trash.
My head hurt and it knocked me against the wall, little did we know until we received the video as to what happened outside, I didn’t realize I fell over the bear and continued down the sidewalk holding my head and continued into the house to retrieve a washcloth. I knew I had injuries and I had blood coming down,” Swartz said.The startled bear bit Swartz on top of his head as it quickly made its way out of the garage.
Swartz ran into his living room to his shocked wife who quickly called 9-1-1 and frantically helped cover his wound.
“We’ll never forget. It was horrible, but we're lucky that it’s all that happened. He has a couple of wounds but they’ll heal," Lori Swartz said.
John Swartz was taken to a hospital where he received treatment for the bite marks to his head including a tetanus shot to avoid diseases or illnesses the bear may have.
State police responded to the scene. Within hours of the attack a Pennsylvania Game Commission officer quickly set up a bear trap to try and capture the bear responsible for the attack.
The trap is filled with donuts and sugary syrup. The smell of sweets will attract bears to the trap.
John Swartz said that despite being attacked, he doesn’t necessarily want the bear to be euthanized.
“It’s very understandable as to why it did what it did. I surprised and it surprised me. It had one way out and it was through me,” he added.
The couple also has two outdoor cats who didn’t attack the bear when it crossed the lawn, but did run to their owner's defense during the attack. They will still allow their cats to be outdoor cats since they haven't had any issues in the past.
As the PA Game Commission waits for the bear responsible for the attack to be caught in this bear trap here. The Schwartz family say that they will be looking over their shoulder when going outdoors at night now.
As of Sunday, no bears have been caught in the trap.
ncG1vNJzZmivmpawtcKNnKamZ56axLR7zZqroqeeYsSwvsudZqaZnmLAtr7Voq2eq12XsqK%2BjJqrrZmToHqwwdOsoJ2dXZ22tHnPnqWnq6mhw6K6yJpkoaedmnquu82tpq6qXZi8trrTsmSjp5ijerTDwKurs2WXlrqmecKopKaho6i2sLqMramaqA%3D%3D