Hunter Wakes Up to Black Bear Chewing on His Head

A hunter camping in central Idaho endured the worst alarm clock nature could devise when he woke up to a black bear biting his head. Idaho Fish and Game officials said in a statement Wednesday that 29-year-old Stephen Vouch of Boise had been hunting bighorn sheep with friends and awoke to the attack early last Friday. Vouch yelled, and one of his friends shot the young male bear with a handgun. Vouch then shot and killed the wounded bear when it climbed a tree.

Vouch was unable to get medical care for three days because he and his friends were in such a remote area. The group had to raft downstream before flying out of the rugged and ominously named Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness on Sunday. He was treated Monday at a hospital for cuts to his head and released. (More bear attack stories.)