BEAR ATTACKS SLEEPING BOY.

Byline: Marni McEntee Daily News Staff Writer

An 8-year-old boy on a camp out for inner-city youths was mauled by a black bear early Wednesday while he slept with eight other children in the Angeles National Forest.

The boy suffered deep cuts on his head and face that required surgery. He was released from the hospital Wednesday, a nursing supervisor said.

The boy's terrified screams during the 5 a.m. attack awakened a camp counselor at Camp Singing Pines, who chased the animal away, said David Myers, executive director of UniCamp, a UCLA-sponsored charity that operates the program for low-income youths.

The child, whose name was not released, was treated by camp emergency medical workers, then taken to Verdugo Hills Hospital.

The camp, who's goal is to give low-income kids from the inner city an experience in nature, is located about 25 miles east of La Canada Flintridge off the Angeles Crest Highway.

California Fish and Game wardens were using bloodhounds to track down the bear in the area around Camp Singing Pines late Wednesday. If it is found, the bear will be killed and tested for rabies, according to a Fish and Game statement.

``The game warden took a look at it and said it was a very unusual incident, and it was a completely unprovoked attack,'' Myers said. The boy was sleeping with eight other kids and two counselors in an open-sided A-frame structure.

The attack forced officials to cut short the weeklong camp, which was to end Saturday, Myers said.

Ninety-eight kids aged 8 to 13 were bused down the mountain, where they were picked up by parents and relatives, he said.

Myers said the camp staff will decide whether to offer the remaining four summer sessions after the bear is captured.

UniCamp is the official charity of UCLA and is staffed by university students. It leases Camp Singing Pines from the Girl Scouts, Myers said.