Bear that attacked 24-year-old runner in California will be euthanized, officials say
TUOLUMNE COUNTY – The California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed when they find the bear that attacked the 24-year-old man in Tuolumne County it will be euthanized.
Captain Patrick Foy with CDFW said they were able to confirm it was a bear attack from samples taken at the scene and from the victim and get a DNA profile of the bear.
"This particular bear, we have no record of it being aggressive or ever even being around people. It just came out of nowhere and attacked this young man," Foy said.
The 24-year-old man was on a run when he came across a cub on the road. Moments later, the mother bear came out of the trees and chased the runner, officials said.
The man tried to hide behind a tree, but the mother bear found him and attacked him.
"It's particularly unusual because the bear aggressively attacked this person and we have no reason to believe that the bear was habituated to humans or human sources of food," Foy said.
Foy said CDFW currently has traps laid out and once the bear is caught and its DNA is matched, it will be euthanized.
He said this is a policy if a bear, coyote or mountain lion injures a human.
"Her life is valuable, the cub's life is valuable," Ann Bryant, Director of the Bear League, said.
Bryant said she would like to see more research go into why the bear acted the way she did.
"Now to orphan a cub and kill a mother bear if she was just simply doing what she should have been doing which is protecting her cub which she perceived to be dangerous. Why should we take her life for her doing what she should be doing?" Bryant said.
The 24-year-old who was attacked has injuries to his back, side and legs but is expected to be okay.
Foy said if the cub is found, there are no plans to euthanize it. He said they will assess if it's old enough to live on its own and if it's not, it will be sent to a rehab-type facility.
"Any bear attack that I've ever been involved with bears that are habituated to human presence and human sources of food so they're comfortable around people, and they can get really aggressive," Foy said.
Bryant said she thinks this situation should be looked at more closely because if bears are changing their behaviors, everyone needs to be aware and be on board.
"I think we can really learn from it. Even if they still kill her, I think we have to get more information and figure out why did she behaved this way. It's really bizarre for a mother bear to behave that violently," Bryant said.