Two fatal bear attacks occurred in Arkansas in 2025. The first attack occurred on September 3, 2025, near the Mulberry Mountain area of north-west Arkansas. The second attack happened on October 1st or 2nd, near the Sam’s Throne campground near Mount Judea. The two attacks happened in or on the edge of the Ozark National Forest, about 45 miles apart.
The last fatal bear attack recorded in Arkansas occurred in 1892, as reported from the May 10 edition of the Arkansas Democrat. From aktimes.com:
Mountain Home, Ark., May 10 — Mrs. Mary Carter, a widow, with a small family of children, is a raving maniac, as the result of a raid upon her little cabin by a half-starved black bear, in which two of her children lost their lives and one [was] half devoured before assistance arrived. Her five children were playing in the yard while the mother was engaged in scrubbing. Suddenly the screams of the children startled her. She saw an enormous bear strike down her oldest boy, who had bravely attempted to defend the children in his charge. The beast seized the baby and ran rapidly away. The animal tore the little one to pieces before the mother’s eyes and escaped to the forest.
Black bears were reduced to a small remnant by 1927. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission prohibited bear hunting in that year. An active program of reintroducing black bears was implemented from 1956 to 1968. No bear hunting season was allowed until 1980.
AmmoLand covered the first fatal bear attack in Arkansas in 2025.
A 72-year-old man, Vernon Patton, was working on a gravel road with his tractor when a 70-pound juvenile male black bear attacked him. The attack happened on September 3, 2025, in the Mulberry Mountain area of Arkansas. The attack occurred near Highway 23, just south of the Mulberry Mountain lodge. Vernon’s son came by to check on him. The son saw his father being attacked and drove off the bear by throwing rocks at it.
This is the smallest black bear to successfully kill a human in a predatory attack, of which this correspondent is aware.
The second fatal bear attack in Arkansas occurred on October 1st or 2nd near Sam’s Throne campground. The campground is about 45 miles to the northeast of the location of the Mulberry Mountain attack.
The victim of the attack at Sam’s Throne campground appears to have been sleeping on a cot, in the open, when the attack occurred. The Newton County Sheriff, Glenn Wheeler, released several updates on the incident. The bear in the Sam’s Throne incident has been described as a male black bear weighing approximately 150 to 170 pounds. Pictures of the suspected bear were sent by the victim, Max Thomas, 60, of Springfield, Missouri, to his family before the attack occurred. Max was dragged about 40 yards into the woods.
Searches on the Internet indicate a Max Thomas of the correct age was a successful businessman, husband, and father. He was married to the now widowed Mrs. Thomas for 35 years.
Bear populations and bear attacks have been increasing over the last several decades in North America, Asia, and Europe. There is good documentation in Japan, Europe, and North America. It is more difficult to find documentation for the area covered by the former Soviet Union and China.
Bear attack numbers have been increasing. They are not common. There are usually less than four fatal bear attacks per year in North America. Japan has more fatal bear attacks on average than does the United States. Japan has had seven fatal attacks so far in 2025. The United States has had three fatal bear attacks in 2025. Canada did not record any fatal bear attacks in 2025 so far.
The populations of both humans and bears are increasing. Bears have received more protection by governments than ever before in history. Bears learn to avoid humans by learning humans are dangerous to be near. The less bears fear humans, the more likely bears are to attack humans.
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About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
the reason to have a gun on you at all times there are things that want to kill you bear or demonrat either way be prepared
I wish all the tree huggers would quit feeding the wildlife. All they are doing is messing with the natural progression of loss because they keep feeding those that are weak enabling their survivability rather than be eaten or die off from natural causes due to weather etc.