A teenager was saved by his brother after a black bear broke into his cabin and left him with scratches on his face and arm; the animal had to sit on a couch on the family’s porch after the attack.
Brigham Hawkins, 15, was “just relaxing” in one of two cabins on his family’s property in Alpine, Arizonawhen the bear “came in through the front door and hit him in the head” Thursday night, his mother Carol said.
Hawkins told NBC News, Sky News’ US partner, that Brigham has a “neurological disorder” and believes he would have been killed if his other son, Parker, 18, had not intervened.
The mother said: “The front door was open to let in the cool night air.
“Brigham was looking Youtube and I didn’t realize what was happening.”
Hawkin said her son “started screaming” during the attack, adding: “[The bear] “It hit him in the nose and cheek and then went ahead and hit him in the forehead and the top of his head.”
Parker ran from the other cabin in the family’s yard after hearing the screams, Hawkins said.
She continued: “Parker at first thought it was some kind of big dog.
“Then the bear saw Parker and started chasing him. That gave Brigham time to slam the door to his cabin.”
Hawkins added that Parker managed to return to the other cabin while the bear followed him.
She continued: “[The bear] He walked around there for a while while we watched him through the window.
“Then he sat on a couch on the porch and just looked around. It was crazy.”
Hawkins said that while she dialed 911 and asked a neighbor for help, her husband Shane waited for the bear to look away before running toward the cabin where Brigham was hiding.
“He slammed the door in the bear’s face,” he said.
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The Arizona Game and Fish Department (AZGFD), whose agents responded to the scene, said that at one point during the family’s ordeal, the bear entered Brigham’s cabin a second time before “slamming the arm of the victim”.
However, when AZGFD officers arrived, the bear was no longer besieging the cabins.
“After arriving on scene, AZGFD wildlife officers were able to quickly locate and dispatch the bear,” the agency said in a statement.
The bear was a male about three years old and its carcass will be examined for disease, the AZGFD said.
Hawkins said her son is “doing better” and has already received a round of rabies shots as a precaution.
Reflecting on why the bear may have attacked, he said: “It may have just been hungry… but that’s not a normal way for a bear to behave.”
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Mrs. Hawkins continued: “[Brigham] He has a neurological disorder and would not have been able to get away from the bear.
“It took some miracles at the same time to save him.”
He added: “This really could have been a lot worse.
“We still can’t believe this happened, but we also feel very blessed.”
Since 1990, there have been 16 bear attacks on people in Arizona, two of them fatal, according to the AZGFD.
The most recent death occurred when a 66-year-old man died while drinking a cup of coffee in Prescott Woods last year.
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