It was around 6 a.m. in scenic Mammoth Lakes, Calif., Tuesday morning when an unexpected visitor upended a couple’s day. The man and woman ended up battling the young bear with a hatchet and a more surprising weapon: a water bottle.
Mammoth Lakes is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, near the Sierra Nevada Forest and Yosemite National Park. According to the Mammoth Lakes tourism website, the area is home to black bears, which are the most common bears found in North America and can range in color from blonde to black despite their name. These bears are omnivores, which means they’ll “eat almost anything,” in the words of the National Park Service.
While black bears can grow to be around 600 pounds, the black bear that wandered into the Mammoth Lakes couples’ yard was just around 70 pounds and 17 months old, said a Facebook Post from the Mammoth Lakes Police Department. When her dogs started barking, the woman looked outside to see one of them fighting the bear in front of her home in the Old Mammoth area of the town.
She went outside, and was followed by another dog, which also began fighting the bear. As she tried to get the bear to stop attacking her dogs, the woman attracted its attention, and it began clawing at her and biting her.
Next, the man came outside to intervene and was also confronted by the animal. Eventually, the woman was able to grab a water bottle and use it to strike the bear until the man could get free, according to the police department’s post. He then retrieved a hatchet and used its blunt end to strike the bear multiple times. Police said these strikes critically injured the animal and stopped the confrontation.
“The couple sustained significant injuries but were able to transport themselves to Mammoth Hospital,” authorities noted. “The couple’s dogs sustained minor injuries in the altercation but are expected to make a full recovery.”
Officers from the Mammoth Lakes Police Department responded to the home and were able to locate the bear. They confirmed no further threat to the community and turned the investigation over to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Once the CDFW took over the case, its law enforcement determined that the bear was a threat to public safety and humanely euthanized it.
“Incidents like this are extremely rare in Mammoth Lakes,” said Mammoth Lakes Police Chief Dan Casabian. “Bears almost always avoid humans and will flee when confronted. This type of aggressive behavior is highly unusual. We are grateful that the couple are expected to make full recoveries and appreciate the quick response of our officers, CDFW, Bishop Veterinarian Hospital, and Mammoth Hospital Staff.”
Even though human-bear incidents such as this one are rare in Mammoth Lakes, the police department did give some tips to anyone who lives in or is planning to travel through an area with bears. It said to never approach or feed bears, to keep garbage stored in bear-proof containers, to make sure that pet food and bird feeders stay inside, to make noise when hiking or walking, especially at dawn or dusk, and to keep dogs and pets on leashes or supervised.
“If you encounter a bear, give it space and slowly back away. Do not run,” said the department. “Report any aggressive bear behavior immediately to the Mammoth Lakes Police Department at (760) 932-7549 x7 or CDFW at (559) 550-7060.”
Bear incidents in California are not unheard of. This March, KNX News reported on a Monrovia mama bear that was euthanized after tests showed she was responsible for attacks on two people. Last year, KNX also reported on a huge bear putting residents on edge in Burbank.
