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A 72-year-old man had to be airlifted to the hospital this week after he was mauled by a 70-pound bear in Arkansas, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission spokesperson Keith Stephens confirmed to Fox News Digital.
“His injuries were extensive,” he told Fox News Digital.
He added to the Arkansas Times: “It was a pretty severe attack. It attacked him on his face, his arms, his upper body.”
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Vernon Patton, 72, was listed in critical condition and underwent surgery at the Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville and was then transferred to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
He is now in stable condition but remains in the hospital, Stephens told Fox News Digital.
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It was the first known bear attack in Arkansas in at least decades, Stephens told USA Today. He added that he believes the last attack may have been in the 19th century.
“This incident is highly unusual, as there have been no documented bear attacks on humans in Arkansas in at least 25 years,” he told USA Today.
Patton was working outside in the Mulberry Mountain area of Franklin County when the bear began to maul him, and it was “in the process of attacking him” when Patton’s son showed up.
His son began throwing rocks at the bear, and “It actually kind of charged at [Patton’s son] one time” before running away, Stephens said, according to USA Today.
Officials later euthanized the bear, Stephens said.
“If we have an animal that attacked a human being, you’ve got to put it down,” he said, according to the Arkansas Times. “You can’t have that happening again.”
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