This Man Nearly Lost His Eye After a Black Bear Attacked Him in His Home
A black bear broke into Dave Chernosky's home in Aspen, CO, on July 10, 2020.
Chernosky found the bear in his kitchen and tried to coax it out of his home, but the bear ended up attacking him.
Chernosky, who has since recovered, had approximately 50 stitches placed in his head, neck, and back after the bear struck him with its paws.
It was July 10, just two days before Dave Chernosky's 55th birthday, when he woke up in the middle of the night to a loud banging in his kitchen. "I immediately knew something was wrong," Chernosky tells Prevention.com. The Ohio native, who had recently relocated to Aspen, CO, was familiar with the tendency of black bears to invade homes in his new neighborhood as they look for food. But he never thought it would happen to him.
"I was sleeping in the bedroom right next to the kitchen, and I heard loud noise. I could tell something was going through the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and slamming drawers, so I sat up and thought, 'This can't be happening,'" he says.
Chernosky, who thought of his young children sleeping in the lower level of their house, cautiously ventured into the dark kitchen, where he was shocked to find a large black bear. "When I saw it, I jumped behind the counter. I was pretty close to it, maybe 15 feet away, " he says. "The bear had already gotten into a bag of sugar and some blueberries."
Chernosky realized that the bear was now between him and the cell phone in his room, so he couldn't call for help. But he knew he had to try to coax the bear toward the door where it had walked in unannounced (yes, bears can actually open doors and cars).
Chernosky said he calmly talked to the bear, ushering it away from the stairs to where his kids were sleeping. According to the National Park Service (NPS), once a bear has noticed you, it's important to talk to it so the bear can identify you as a human. Remember, humans are not their typical food choice. You should also make yourself look as large as possible, and back away sideways.
This method worked for Chernosky—initially. "The bear slowly backed away and opened the garage door. It went into the garage and the door shut behind it. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the problem was solved," he says. After waiting a few minutes, Chernosky cautiously opened the door to the garage and hit the button to open the garage door so the bear could go outside.
"The garage door spooked it, and it ran back toward where I was standing. I ran down the hall and hid in the corner, and it came back inside," he continues. "I couldn't see it because it was so dark, so I came back to the hallway to look, and when I came around, I realized it was standing right in front of me. It was a total shock to the both of us."
The 400-pound black bear instantly hit Chernosky in the head so hard that it spun him around in a full circle. "It felt like a brick smacking you in the side of the head and instantly tore the skin off my forehead, my right eye, and sliced my ear in half. I was bleeding immediately and crawled back behind the counter thinking, 'This thing's about to have me for lunch,'" he says.
If you're attacked by a black bear, the NPS recommends avoiding playing dead and trying to escape to a higher surface. If you can't escape, fight back using any objects you can find to hit the bear, focusing your blows on the bear's face and muzzle.
Feeling helpless, Chernosky started screaming at it as loud as he could, which scared the bear off. "It slowly backed away, and then ran out the door it originally came through," he says. Chernosky was relieved to see the bear leave his house, but he knew he was injured. He grabbed a towel to put over his head to stop the bleeding and called 911. "I was bleeding pretty badly but I wanted to stay calm because at that point my children woke up and were with me," he says.
When Chernosky arrived at the hospital, they tended to his wounds and put in more than 50 stitches on his face, neck, and back. Fortunately, a CAT scan confirmed no serious damage, including to his corroded artery, which was an initial concern.
"I consider myself lucky. I nearly lost an eye," he says. Two weeks after the attack, Chernosky had his stitches removed, and he's already back to working, hiking, riding his mountain bike, and caring for his kids.
"For me, this was an experience where it resets things for you. I really felt soon after like I had another lease in life," he says. "It's interesting how it's affected me, but it has been positive." He does add, though, that he'll definitely be looking into a stronger lock on the front door.
And Chernosky doesn't hold this experience against the bear. "Aspen is obviously a wilderness area, and we love that about it. We see moose, bears, mountain lions—it's God's country and it's beautiful," he says. "Bears are not after us, they're just hungry and it's their lifestyle to do whatever they can to find food."
Support from readers like you helps us do our best work. Go here to subscribe to Prevention and get 12 FREE gifts. And sign up for our FREE newsletter here for daily health, nutrition, and fitness advice.
You Might Also Like
