Trail runner recounts black bear attack in Big Cottonwood Canyon
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Danny Rizzo says he’s feeling fine a day after a black bear bit him while he was trail running in Big Cottonwood Canyon.
The encounter happened Wednesday afternoon on the Mill D North Fork Trail. Rizzo was running along the trail when he heard the bear in the brush.
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When the animal approached him, he slowly backed away while trying to make himself look bigger — just what wildlife officials advise people to do.
But Rizzo tripped on a log and fell over. That’s when the bear attacked.
“It got my arm in its mouth,” Rizzo said. “And then, from my back, I kicked it with the bottom of my shoe, in the head, and it kind of shook its head and ran off. And that’s pretty much it.”
Afterward, Rizzo ran back down the trail and drove himself to St. Marks Hospital in Millcreek. He suffered a puncture wound and bruises on his arm.
Rizzo said he was running on adrenaline during the encounter.
“It’s hard to recount what I was thinking in that exact moment because it just happened so fast,” he said.
Late Wednesday, officers with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources found and euthanized the bear. It was the second black bear put down in the Wasatch Front this week.
“Because the bear had shown aggressive behavior and injured a person, it was euthanized, per policy,” said DWR spokesperson Faith Jolley. “It was an adult female bear.”
Rizzo said he was sorry to hear the bear was put down.
“Obviously, nobody wants that to happen,” he said.
According to the DWR, black bears such as the one that attacked Rizzo can be found across Utah.
Jolley advised those who encounter a black bear never to run or play dead. Instead, they should stand their ground, and use bear spray if they have it.
Yet, according to Rizzo, standing one’s ground is easier said than done.
“With a bear coming at me, it was pretty scary,” he said.
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