A couple of years ago, just before the school run, as a weak winter sun struggled to light-up the sky, I went outside to put some trash in the bin on the street. As I turned to head back to the house, I came face to face with a coyote. This in suburban Providence, RI. He looked at me. I looked at him. My hand went to my gun. The coyote went towards Presidents Avenue. I mention this because a) coyote attacks are a thing, b) so are bear attacks, and c) a gun is a good thing to have on your person when animals attack. For example . . .
Frank Frana said his wife was sitting on the back porch at about 7:45 p.m. when she noticed a pair of bears running in the area. She was concerned because two of her children, 10 and 11, had just ridden to a neighbor’s home on their bikes, so she went to check on them.
When she got to the garage, “she noticed five bears going through garbage that they had pulled out of the garage,” Frana said. “One of the bears raised and knocked her down. The bear mauled her for a short period of time,and somehow she broke free.”
She made her way back inside the home and collapsed in the foyer. Frana and the couple’s eldest son, Drew, 15, found her there, and Drew immediately called 911.
“She was lying on the floor crying, and there was blood everywhere,” Frana recalled. He estimated police, fire and wildlife officers were on the scene within 10 minutes.
“It was short, it was quick, but it was a close call,” he said.
Just in case this story [via orlandosentinel.com] isn’t harrowing enough, Mrs. Frana told NBC’s Today, “I could hear teeth ‘going through my scalp.'” Don’t you just hate it when that happens? I’ve got one word of advice for those who live in areas shared with dangerous four-legged predators and (for small dog owners) raptors . . . wait. I think a picture will suffice.
