|
In the interest of speed and timeliness, this story is fed directly from the Associated Press newswire and may contain spelling or grammatical errors.
|
Bear attack first in Calif. since 2001
Monday August 18, 2003
GLENDORA, Calif. (AP) A bear was killed after it knocked down
a hiker in the Angeles National Forest, marking the first such
attack in California since 2001, Department of Fish and Game
officials said Monday.
The black bear was killed Aug. 4 at Little Jimmy Campground,
where the attack occurred a month earlier, department spokeswoman
Lorna Bernard said.
In the July 3 attack, the bear knocked down an unidentified male
hiker at the campground, located several miles off Angeles Crest
Highway north of Glendora. The hiker suffered only minor bruises.
The hiker told officials he had just reached the empty
campground and had dropped his pack as he searched for a place to
stash his food.
As he walked back toward his pack, he heard a noise behind him.
He turned and was knocked to the ground by the bear. After standing
over him for a few seconds, the bear grabbed the backpack and began
dragging it away, according to an account provided by Fish and
Game.
The man shouted at the bear and threw rocks until the animal ran
off, leaving the pack behind.
The department has tallied 12 bear ``attacks'' defined as
physical contact, injury or death since 1980, Bernard said. No
human deaths were reported, although several of the bears later
were killed.
California has an estimated 30,000 black bears. Officials urge
campers, hikers and backpackers to stash their food, garbage and
cooking utensils while in the wild.
The 650,000-acre Angeles National Forest lies on the northern
and eastern outskirts of greater Los Angeles.
^ =
On the Net: California bear attacks
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/news03/bear incidents.html
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
|