Last week, a bear attacked and bit a woman who had fallen asleep in her backyard in California’s Sierra Madre, according to authorities. She hit him with her laptop in self-defense.
A BOLO out for the bear
The woman was bitten on one leg and scratched on an arm and leg, according to Captain Patrick Foy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. She was treated at the hospital, he said.
Fish and Wildlife took samples of the bite and searched for the bear, which was described as light-coloured and weighing approximately 57 kilograms. Foy said it was a young bear. If found and identified by DNA as the animal that bit the victim, he explained that the bear would be euthanized.
The alert was issued by the hospital.
Once an animal starts attacking and biting a human being, they see humans as prey, » said Foy. It’s possible that the bear in the Sierra Madre case saw the person as potential prey, he added.
Police discovered the attack in the 2200 block of Santa Anita Avenue when hospital staff called the station at 8:49 p.m., said Sierra Madre Police Sergeant Kyle Bailey. He believes it happened earlier. « It looks like she was working on a laptop and fell asleep, » Foy said. He didn’t know if the victim lived there or if she was just passing through.
This isn’t the first time a bear has attacked a human in the area
« The bear came up to her, started scratching her arm and leg and bit her leg, » said Foy. She hit the bear with the laptop, he added. On Monday, a Fish and Wildlife officer spotted the bear a hundred yards away, which was running away into the forest.
The last bear attack near the city occurred last year when a man sleeping in the mountains heard a bear and woke up. The man reached out his hand so that the bear could smell him. The bear attacked him. The man, who was left with scratches on his face and arm, had made his way back to the city to find help.