Boy Scout plays dead, survives bear attack

Plucky Pa. teen curls up in fetal position as animal rips down his tent

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updated 8:57 a.m. ET Oct. 15, 2007

WHITE HAVEN, Pa. —A Boy Scout played dead when attacked by a bear during a camping trip, avoiding serious injury.

Chris Malasics, 14, curled up in the fetal position in his sleeping bag after the bear ripped down his tent at Hickory Run State Park around 11:30 p.m. Friday.

"I was just trying to figure out what to do to not get hurt," he told the Daily Local News of West Chester.

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As the bear started tossing Malasics around, a Scout leader tried to create a disturbance by banging pots and pans and flashing car headlights. The bear eventually wandered off.

Not deterred from camping
Malasics, of Chester Springs, was taken to a hospital for treatment for his cuts and bruises. He was also given a precautionary rabies shot.

Malasics said the experience will not deter him from going camping. In the future, though, he intends to make sure he has a pepper spray for bears, and perhaps a gun.

"I know how to shoot," he said.