Photo: Rebecca Harding / Moment / Getty Images
Authorities in California confirmed that a woman found dead in her home in 2023 was killed by a black bear. It is the first-ever report of a fatal black bear attack on a human.
When officials first discovered the body of the 71-year-old woman in her Downieville home, they thought the bear found her body after she had died. However, the results of the autopsy showed that the bear attacked her while she was alive and killed her.
"This incident is the first known, documented fatal attack by a black bear in California history," Fish and Wildlife Information Officer Peter Tira told the San Francisco Chronicle in an email.
Tira added that wildlife officials located the bear and euthanized it after DNA evidence confirmed it was the same one that attacked the woman.
Officials said that while encounters between black bears and humans continue to rise across the state, they rarely result in an attack. Black bears are usually averse to confrontation and will run from humans unless threatened.
However, as encounters between bears and humans rise, with more than 1,600 reported annually in 2021 and 2022, younger bears are becoming less fearful of humans. They are also venturing into more populated areas in search of food.
The first-ever fatal attack has concerned wildlife officials.
"It's a big deal," Steve Gonzalez with Fish and Wildlife told KCRA. "That doesn't happen in California. Normally, a bear is going to stay away from you, a bear that hasn't been normalized to human behavior."