The Daily Populous Monday January 27th, 2025 night edition
Authored by cbsnews.com and submitted by No-Information6622

Man attacked by bear in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania Man attacked by bear in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania 00:25

A bear that attacked a Pennsylvania man earlier this week had rabies, wildlife officials confirmed Thursday.

Andrew Neirer told CBS affiliate WYOU that he spotted the adult male black bear sitting in a wooded area in the Carbon County town of Jim Thorpe. He was walking along a trail to go to the store, and tried to avoid the animal, but it approached him.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission said that the bear began to bite and scratch Neirer. Those are "abnormal behaviors" for the species, the commission said.

A neighbor saw the incident, which was captured on video, and shot the bear, WYOU reported. Neirer told the station that he felt OK and said it "could've been a lot worse."

"I feel bad for the bear, because they really do not bother you that much," Neirer told the station. "Just, anything happens."

The Pennsylvania Game Commission was called to the scene and officials took the bear's remains to be tested. On Thursday, the commission confirmed the animal had rabies but said that Neirer is expected to make a full recovery and has "received appropriate medical treatment."

The commission emphasized that rabies among bears is typically rare, and cases are usually isolated. Male bears hibernate for the winter alone, the commission said, making it unlikely that other animals were exposed to the illness. Animals behaving strangely should be reported to the appropriate authorities.

Rabies is a deadly viral infection that attacks the nervous system in humans and animals, causing brain and spinal cord inflammation. It is typically spread to humans through direct contact with the saliva of an infected animal through scratching or biting.

Treatment has proven to be nearly 100% effective at preventing the disease if someone is exposed, though it must start before symptoms appear.

Last year, at least three people in North America died after thet were bitten or scratched by bats with rabies.

Hulkbuster_v2 on January 26th, 2025 at 17:54 UTC »

Question: you are attacked by an animal, are you automatically offered the rabies shot? Or do you have to ask for it?

2DEUCE2 on January 26th, 2025 at 17:28 UTC »

Of all the deadly stuff out there, rabies is top 5 of my “please god NO!” list.

iamacannibal on January 26th, 2025 at 17:27 UTC »

Getting attacked by a bear is bad. Getting attacked by a bear with rabies and living is a pretty cool story