Bear claws man by Cherry Creek

[WampusCat]

I thought this post was going to be about a guy selling doughnuts on the Tonto.

[trphyhntr]

im stopping at bosa now

[Snapshot]

PAYSON, AZ (KPHO/KTVK) -

The Arizona Game and Fish Department announced on Thursday that officers had trapped and euthanized a black bear that clawed a camper in his tent near Cherry Creek in Young, Arizona.

Officers said they caught the male bear in a culvert trap on Wednesday. They confirmed it was the same bear that attacked a camper based on descriptions from the campers and because it had a unique hind paw pad that matched tracks found at the scene.

The bear was euthanized per department policy because the animal attacked a human and was deemed a threat to public safety, the department said.

The man in his 20s was scratched on the backside early Wednesday morning while trying to escape the creature, according to Mike Merchant with the Anasazi Foundation.

[READ MORE: Camper in tent clawed by bear near Young, Ariz.]

The man, who was not identified, was treated at a nearby hospital and then released.

The bear was apparently investigating the sleeping man's campsite and then began pawing at the victim's sleeping bag, according to the Arizona Game and Fish Department.

Officers said there was unsecured food sources and garbage in the area and a field necropsy, which is an autopsy performed on an animal, revealed garbage in the bear's stomach. The bear was estimated to be between 1-and-a-half and 2-and-a-half years old.

"We need the public's help to keep wildlife wild," Dustin Darveau, a wildlife specialist in the Game and Fish Mesa region, said in a statement. "The root cause of most human-bear conflicts is food, and when a bear starts associating people with food, the chance for conflict and risk to public safety rises. Though the cause of the problem is usually people, often it's the bear that must face the consequences."

Game and Fish said officers are continuing trapping operations on bears on Thursday because campers told them multiple bears had raided the camp area looking for food during the Memorial day weekend and didn't leave immediately when bear spray was used. The area is now closed during the trapping operation and until further notice.

[oz31p]

😃