A black bear attack in the small California community of Downieville, which resulted in a woman's death, has proven to be the first such fatality in the history of the state. In November of last year (2023), Sierra County Sherriff's deputies were performing a welfare check in the small Sierra Nevada town, when they found a broken door and bear scat on the front porch. Upon entering the domicile, deputies found the remains of the 71-year old woman half devoured on the floor. It appeared the bear had been feeding there for several days.
It was initially believed that the woman—identified as Patrice Miller—passed away inside her home and the bear, drawn by the scent, showed up afterwards. Unfortunately, autopsy results showed differently. The woman was instead killed by a mauling—namely a swipe and bite to the neck.
Many concerned citizens had reported the bear was repeatedly returning to the house. As such, a state depredation permit was issued, allowing the bear to be trapped on the property, after which it was euthanized. Unfortunately, this occured far too late for Miller. This was not the only problem bear in the area either. Another had to be euthanized in short order, after repeated attempts to break into the school gym. This finally resulted in a significant decrease of bear activity in the area.
Overall, this trend is emblematic of larger patterns in the state. Bears breaking into trash cans, jumping in pools and otherwise crossing paths with humans have occurred with increasing regularity from the Sierras to the Pacific.
This trend is far from unexpected, considering the burgeoning population of California black bears, which some estimates put at as many as 30,000 animals. Given that sizeable population, the bears have begun to expand outside of their typical ranges and into more populated zones.
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