A woman from Chico, Montana, was killed after a bear pulled her out of a tent

[ad_1]

A bear pulled a woman out of her tent in the middle of the night and killed her before fellow campers used bear spray to force the animal out of the area, Montana wildlife officials said Wednesday. About the attack that killed Leah Davis Lucan, 65, of Chico, California. She was participating in a long-distance bike ride and stopped in the western Montana town of Ovando on Monday evening. The search for the bear by helicopter was unsuccessful. Officials said the bear woke up the woman and two others who were camping near the post office around 3 a.m. on Tuesday. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials said the bear ran away, campers removed food from their tents and secured it and went back to sleep, and the roughly 400-pound bear was captured by a video camera at a convenience store a short distance away. From the post office about 15 minutes later, wildlife officials said, less than an hour later, two people in a tent near the victim were awakened to the sounds of the attack. They sprayed the bear with bear spray, and he fled. The 911 call was made at 4:14 a.m., according to Powell County Sheriff Gavin Russels, and the bear is also believed to have entered the city’s chicken coop, killing and eating several chickens. “At this point, our best chance of catching this bear would be to set up barrage traps in the area near the chicken coop where the bear killed and ate several chickens,” said Randy Arnold, Missoula, Missoula Regional Superintendent of Fish, Wildlife and Parks. If found, investigators have obtained DNA from the bear at the scene of the attack and will be able to compare it with any bruin they are able to hunt, said Greg Lemon, a spokesperson for Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Afando, about 60 miles northwest of Helena, is a community of fewer than 100 people on the edge of Bob Marshall’s sprawling wilderness, and grizzly bears have faced increasing conflict with humans in the northern Rockies over the past decade. Protected animals expanded into new areas and the number of people living and living in the area increased. That has prompted calls from elected officials in neighboring Montana, Wyoming and Idaho to lift protections so the animals can be hunted. North of Ovando lies an area of ​​forest and mountains including Glacier National Park that stretches into Canada and is home to an estimated 1,000 grizzlies. . It is the largest concentration of Bruins in the rare American adjacent deadly attacks in the region. There have been three cases in the past 20 years, including the beating on Tuesday, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2001, a hunter was killed by a grizzly along with two cubs while he was ripping an elk in the Wildlife Management Area west of Ovandu. The three animals were shot and killed by wildlife officials days later, and over the past 20 years there have been eight fatal killings of people by grizzlies from a separate group of about 700 bears in and around Yellowstone National Park. In April, a grizzly bear killed a country guide while hunting along the park border in southwest Montana. Bears that attack people are not always killed if the beating results from a sudden confrontation or if the bear is defending its young. But Lemon said the bear involved in Tuesday’s death was considered a threat to public safety due to the circumstances of the attack.

Helena, Mont. –

A bear pulled a woman out of her tent in the middle of the night and killed her before fellow campers used bear spray to force the bear out of the area, Montana wildlife officials said Wednesday.

Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks officials have released more information about the attack that killed Leah Davis Lucan, 65, of Chico, California. She was participating in a long-distance bike ride and stopped in the western Montana town of Ovando on Monday evening. The search for the bear by helicopter was unsuccessful.

Officials said the bear woke up the woman and two others who were camping near the post office around 3 a.m. on Tuesday. Then the bear ran away.

Officials at Montana Fish and Wildlife and Parks said campers removed food from their tents, secured it and went back to sleep.

Wildlife officials said the 400-pound bear was captured by a video camera at a company a block from the post office about 15 minutes later.

Less than an hour later, two people in a tent near the victim were awakened by the sounds of the attack. They sprayed the bear with bear spray, and he fled. Gavin Russell, Powell County Sheriff, said the 911 call was made at 4:14 a.m.

It is also believed that the bear entered a chicken coop in the city and killed and ate several chickens.

“At this point, our best chance of catching this bear will be sewage traps being set up in the area near the chicken coop where the bear has killed and eaten several chickens,” said Randy Arnold, Missoula, Missoula Regional Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Superintendent.

Greg Lemon, a spokesperson for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the bear would be killed if it was found.

The agency said investigators have obtained DNA from the bear at the scene of the attack and will be able to compare it with any debris they can identify.

Ovando, about 60 miles northwest of Helena, is a community of less than 100 people on the edge of Bob Marshall’s sprawling wilderness.

Grizzly bears have faced increased conflict with humans in the northern Rockies over the past decade as federally protected animals expanded into new territories and more people lived and recreated in the area. That prompted calls from elected officials in neighboring Montana, Wyoming and Idaho to lift protections so the animals can be hunted.

North of Ovando is a vast expanse of forest and mountains including Glacier National Park which extends into Canada and is home to an estimated 1,000 grizzlies. It is the largest concentration of Bruins in the neighboring United States

Fatal attacks are rare in the region. There have been three cases in the past 20 years, including Tuesday’s bombing, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 2001, a hunter was killed by a grizzly along with two cubs while killing an elk in the Wildlife Management Area west of Ovando. The three animals were shot and killed by wildlife officials days later.

Over the past 20 years, there have been eight fatal strikes on people by grizzlies from a separate group of about 700 bears in and around Yellowstone National Park. In April, a grizzly bear killed a country guide while hunting along the park border in southwest Montana.

Bears that attack people are not always killed if the beating results from a sudden confrontation or if the bear is defending its young. But Lemon said the bear involved in Tuesday’s death was considered a threat to public safety due to the circumstances of the attack.

.

[ad_2]