It wasn’t Smokey, Pooh, or Yogi Bear that stopped by to see a man in the late hours of the night on Thursday, June 24, in Meyers, California. At 10:39 p.m., a bear broke into the California man’s house, attacking him before he was forced to shoot the animal in self-defense.
The bear ran out of the man’s house and into the woods, where the police tracked it down the following day after he immediately called the authorities, informing them of what happened.
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“On June 25th, 2021, during the morning hours, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife located the gravely wounded bear and euthanized it,” the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
Even with the trail of blood coming off the animal, police could not find the bear until the next morning. Local residents said that bear sightings are relatively common in the area and that it is often due to out-of-town people who are not responsible when it comes to taking the necessary precautions to avoid these incidents, according to ABC7.
"Visitors come up, and they leave their trash about, and the bears then go ahead feel comfortable enough to roam the streets," Vincent Vidal told KGO.
"A lot of people who don't live here don't realize that they have to keep the trash safe, the doors locked, and not feed these guys," added Tyler Bradford.
The sheriff’s office launched an investigation, but it was determined that the homeowner acted legally when he shot the bear and will not be charged for doing anything wrong.
“We encourage all citizens to familiarize themselves with safety tips for bear encounters,” said the Sheriff’s Office.