“If and when the bear is found, it will be humanely destroyed because of the severity of the attack”, Traverso said.
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A 67-year-old man fought off a bear that attacked him on his front porch as it scavenged for food on the outskirts of Yosemite National Park.
Yepez likely startled the bear, which was ripping through his trash, when he walked outside his home in the 5300 block of Colorado Road in Midpines around 4 a.m., said Lt. Chris Stoots of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. “He was right on top of me”. “He was barking, he kept him distracted”, Yepez told ABC 30. Yepez was able to fight off the 200-pound black bear and made it back into his home.
“Mr. Yepez is a very tough individual”, Mariposa County game warden Frank Milazzo told Merced Sun-Star.
Traverso said that California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Service personnel are jointly investigating the incident.
Stoots said that bear encounters are increasing, likely because the animals are entering populated areas to find food and water in the drought-stricken state. Bears have been a problem in the area for the past several weeks.
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Due to the “significant attack”, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are warning residents in the area to be aware of their surroundings and keep an eye on children and pets. There have been around 15 bear attacks since 1980, she said.
