A stock image of a black bear.Photo:Bryant Aardema/Getty
Bryant Aardema/Getty
A bear wasshot and killedafter it attacked a Calpine, California, resident Friday night and was involved in a “standoff” with the man’s dog, authorities said.
“While outside, a bear emerged from his neighbor’s yard and charged at him,” the sheriff’s office said in its statement. “Regrettably, the bear did not stop, and the Calpine resident sustained bites on his hand, wrist, and leg.”
“Fearing for his dog’s safety,” said the sheriff’s office, “the resident went outside and ultimately shot the bear while it was in a standoff with his dog. The victim then sought medical attention at the hospital, where he received treatment for his bite wounds but did not require hospitalization.”
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“Fish and Wildlife officials euthanized the bear and transported it to Sacramento for a necropsy and rabies testing,” authorities said.
Bear attacks are very rare, while fatal attacks are even rarer,The New York Timesreported in June. Steve Searles, a bear expert and the subject of Animal Planet’s reality showThe Bear Whisperer,previously told PEOPLEthat “there are countless, tens of thousands [of] encounters every day without it going bad, without an incident.”
Those who come across a bear in the wild should not run, according to Searles. “It can make them want to chase you and pursue you,” Searles explained, adding that chasing humans isn’t on a bear’s priority list. “They’re lazy animals that just want to get fatter and fatter.”
In addition to people making a loud noise and holding their hands above their heads if they run into a bear, Searles and Chris Erskine, the co-authors ofWhat the Bears Know, suggested bear spray as a defense action in case of an attack. “His number one tool in life is his nose to find food, water, to breathe, to find his den, and so his nose is shut off instantly from the pepper spray,” said Searles.
If a bear enters a home, Searles recommends using non-lethal methods to deal with the animal. According to Searles, if bear spray, non-lethal rubber bullets, and flash bang devices are used properly, the bear “won’t repeat the problem.”
source: people.com
