Man survives attack by black bear in Sierra Nevada foothills
LONG BARN – A man on a run in a California foothills community was chased and attacked by a mother bear, leaving the man with scratches and multiple bites on Monday afternoon, officials said Tuesday.
The attack happened sometime after 5 p.m. on Monday on North Fork Road, located just off Highway 108 in the Long Barn area of Tuolumne County.
The Mi-Wuk Sugar Pine Fire Protection District responded to the incident, saying the 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, the fire district said.
He suffered scratches and multiple bite marks, which firefighters said is consistent with a typical female bear attack.
After the attack, the man ran away and jumped on the hood of a nearby parked car, which then caused the owner to come out. After the owner of the car started to make loud noises, the bears took off.
As of Tuesday, the bear has not been found.
Long Barn is about 130 miles southeast of Sacramento.
Black bear attacks in California
Black bears are the only bear species in the state and human encounters with them are increasingly common, but people being injured by them is rare.
A North Lake Tahoe woman came face to face with a bear in her home in 2022. Earlier this year, a 71-year-old Downieville woman died after she was attacked by a black bear – marking the first-ever recorded case of a deadly black bear attack in California.
Two teens recounted a bear making its way into a Truckee home in 2019.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says the adult female bears typically weigh between 100-300 pounds, while adult male bears range from 150-400 pounds.
Fish and wildfire says agitated bears will snarl, open and close their mouths rapidly while salivating. They may also walk with their heads below their shoulders, indicating aggression. Bears could also bluff charge, meaning they'll run at full speeds at something they see as a threat to stop just short.
