"It was life or death" for man attacked by bear on park trail

OLALLA, Kitsap County — It took awhile before Anthony Blasioli could even touch his own dogs' fur without being haunted by the memory of the bear that mauled him at Banner Forest Heritage Park on Labor Day weekend.

During a news conference Monday morning outside the park, Blasioli recounted the attack for the first time and spoke of how it affected him.

The 51-year-old software developer for Boeing was riding his mountain bike with his two dogs through the Kitsap County park on Sept. 2 when he was mauled by the bear in what wildlife experts said was an unprovoked attack.

Blasioli said one of his dogs gave a single warning bark and he got off his bike, thinking other bike riders or horses were on the trail. Before he could think, he said, the bear was in front of him.

"He came up the trail and came right at me," said Blasioli. "I stepped back ... and fell. Then he came up to me and started eating."

The black male bear, which Blasioli described as about the height of a man, ripped through his bike helmet and tore away a piece of his ear. Blasioli was bitten and clawed on his face, chest, neck, shoulders and ribs.

It was then, he said, that he prayed.

"All of a sudden I thought I was really going to die," said Blasioli. "I asked God, I said I didn't want to die. Then all of a sudden, [the bear] left for a moment."

A lapsed Catholic, Blasioli said the experience may not lead him back to the church, but it affirmed his faith.

"I had asked for a concrete sign and that's what I got," he said.

After a moment's reprieve, the bear turned again toward Blasioli, who leapt on his bike and sped away, leaving his two German shorthaired pointers behind.

"I felt bad leaving them, but it was life or death," he said.

He encountered two other bikers at the trailhead, who called 911.

"I was lucky I didn't lose my nose or my face," he said.

He was in the intensive-care unit at St. Joseph Medical Center in Tacoma for almost a week and was told at one point that he may lose his arm.

"He's actually lucky to be alive," said Gale Robinette, a hospital spokesman.

While Blasioli was in the hospital, a friend from Seattle spent two days at the park rounding up Blasioli's dogs, named Oak and Pine.

Despite traps set out by officers with the state Fish and Wildlife Department, the bear has not been caught.

Blasioli, an animal lover, said he had no thoughts on whether the bear should be put to death if caught.

"I'll leave that decision to the experts," he said.

Kitsap County reopened the park on Monday, warning visitors to watch out for bears.

Fish and Wildlife officer Jason Czebotar said unprovoked attacks like the one on Blasioli are extremely rare despite a healthy bear population in South Kitsap and North Mason counties.

Czebotar said people are urged to hike and bike together and to carry a noisemaker of some sort, like a whistle.

Blasioli has not decided whether he will return to the park he used to ride in weekly.

If he does, he will not go alone.

His mother, Janet Blasioli, who rushed to the West Coast from Massachusetts, said if she has anything to say about it, he's not going back in those woods at all.

"Not if I'm still here, he's not," she said.

Christine Clarridge: 206-464-8983 or cclarridge@seattletimes.com.