I guess this California black bear didn’t like the nickname it was given.
A 71-year-old California woman is dead after a black bear broke into her home and mauled her. It is the first ever documented fatal black bear attack in the state, and it’s quite the gruesome story.
Patrice Miller had reportedly been harassed by one particular black bear for weeks, if not months, before the attack happened. She had even nicknamed the bear “Big Bastard” when she talked about the wild animal’s propensity to bother her with neighbors.
The light-hearted nature of the story quickly turned sour when Miller was attacked and killed by the very bear that had been bothering her late last year. It was initially thought that the older California resident had died from natural causes and the bear broke in after the fact, but further investigation told a different story.
Miller was so concerned for her safety prior to the attack, she had installed steel bars across windows of her home in case the black bear tried to enter her home. On the fateful day, it was her door that the bear broke down, which wasn’t reinforced.
The coroner’s report suggested that the bear broke into the home, walked into Miller’s bedroom, pulled her from her bed while she was still asleep, and proceeded to maul her. When officials responded to the home, they found her body in the living room of the residence, and as the Sierra County Sheriff Mike Fisher stated, it wasn’t a pretty sight:
“It appeared that the bear had probably been there several days and had been feeding on the remains.”
According to reports from neighbors, Miller had voiced her desire to have the bear relocated (and not hurt) before it tragically killed her. The Northern California town of Downieville that Patrice Miller lived in is considered “bear country.” It’s estimated that 40% of the state’s bear population resides in the Sierra Nevadas, where Miller’s home was located.
After the horrible tragedy, the black bear was tracked down and euthanized.
