Man's Claim of Bear Rescue Could Be Hoax
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Sixty-nine-year-old Bob Biggs' claims of a lion attack made national news. It was an astonishing attack, followed by an amazing rescue: by a bear.
"It was defending its cub, I think, and trying to save me," said Biggs.
However, it seems Biggs failed to convince the Fish and Game Commission that a bear would rip a lion off his back.
"The evidence right now says inconclusive, but he lives in mountain lion country," said Andrew Hughan, a spokesperson for the agency.
Biggs' backpack has been taken to be tested for animal DNA, even though Fish and Game says they found just one tear on the bag.
The odds of a mountain lion attack are very low, but still possible. So what does Fish and Games have to say about the rescue?
"There's never been a case we can document that one animal attacked another to save a person," said Hughan.
Biggs' theory, the bear protected him because it knew him from previous encounters.
"Bears do not have a memory of people," said Hughan.
Biggs spoke to CBS13 over the phone today and he stands by his story.
"I'm not lying about this, anything about it, not one detail," Biggs said over the phone.
So is it possible that Biggs' imagination is sharper than his memory?
"The bear just kind of calmly got down on the ground and went back down to the beach," said Biggs.
