A young Boy Scout from Cooperstown suffered minor injuries after a run-in with a black bear at Harriman State Park earlier this month.

Twelve-year-old Henry Ayers woke up to the bear while camping with Boy Scout Troop 12-54 from Cooperstown on May 1.

Ayers and his friends were sleeping under the stars when a hungry bear tried to go through their food.

The bear approached Ayers, waking him up, before biting him through his sleeping bag and dragging him.

Luckily, he and his friends yelled and scared the bear off.

"I thought I was still asleep. I can barely even remember it now because it was dark out and it was a black bear so it was dark. I could only see its face," says Ayers.

Ayers said he needed to get his rabies shots after the encounter but is still excited about his next camping trip with his friends.

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