CA Woman Killed After Being Pulled From Her Tent By A Bear

Los Angeles CA

10 July, 2021

12:55 PM

Description

HELENA, MT — A grizzly bear that dragged a California woman from her tent and killed her was fatally shot Friday by wildlife officials in Montana. Federal officials hunted the abnormally aggressive bear for several days after it was declared a threat to public safety. Wildlife officials used night-vision goggles to stake out a chicken coop that the grizzly bear raided in Helena, a small town in Montana. As the bear approached the trap set near the coop and just a few miles away from the campground where the woman was killed, federal workers shot the bear just after midnight, Greg Lemon of Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks said. "Based on the size of the bear, the color of the bear and the nature of the chicken coop raids, we're confident we've got the offending bear," he said, adding that the tracks found at the coop also matched those near the fatal attack in Ovando. Campsites in town were to remain closed until DNA evidence from the large bear came back. On Tuesday, 65-year-old Leah Davis of Chico had stopped in the town during a mountain cycling trip. She and her group were camping behind the Ovando post office when she was pulled from her tent. Around 4:15 a.m., the sheriff's office responded to a 911 call after nearby campers were disturbed by the loud attack, Powell County Sheriff Gavin Roselles said. Two nearby campers awakened by the violent attack discharged their bear spray at the animal, prompting it to flee the area. In the same night, the bear is believed to have killed several chickens in a coop nearby. Bear attacks on people are rare, particularly in populated areas like Ovando, officials said. The area is usually trafficked by tourists and travelers are allowed to pitch tents in the town. Dona Aitken, an artist who lives about 7 miles east of the town, told the Associated Press that the animal's death would bring relief to the community. She said she spots grizzlies occasionally and signs of them such as droppings and tracks but has never been bothered by them. "Everybody recognizes this as really abnormal behavior to actually attack somebody sleeping in a tent in town," she said. "I think we still don't have a good answer for why he did that."