Woman attacked by bear in Caliente


Published on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 3:40 PM PDT

PIUTE-CA, at approximately 10 a.m. , on Tuesday July 22, a local resident out walking her 2 dogs was attacked by a bear. Unfortunately one of the dogs was killed; the other was able to escape. The woman received severe lacerations to her head and face in the attack. However, she was able to walk back to her car and drive 3 to 4 miles to the local Kern county Fire Station, Station 78 in Piute.

The fire crew provided medical care to the woman for her injuries. A Medi-Vac helicopter was used to transport the victim to UCLA hospital in Los Angeles.

Kern County Sheriff Deputies and Animal Control Officers arrived on scene to try and identify the exact location of the attack.


Comments

17 comment(s)

    anna c wrote on Aug 15, 2008 9:18 AM:

    " I have not commented until now because I was not there and did not have and may still not have all the facts, however, the victim has commented and I have no reason not to believe everything she says. My only question is "WHY, if she knew the bear attacked a neighbors dog the night before", Why in GOD's good name would she be out working with her dogs loose without a weapon to protect herself if she knew there was a dangerous bear in the immediate vicinity? I hope she is doing well. -anna c "

    webmaster wrote on Aug 13, 2008 3:57 PM:

    " The Write a Comment section is intended to be a forum for the community, a vehicle for adding relevant information and/or comments to the public discourse. As noted, "Your thoughtful contribution to the online discussion is appreciated." Let's tone the over-the-top rhetoric, i.e. name-calling, mean-in-spirit, inappropriate language. Thanks. "

    OldHeathen wrote on Aug 13, 2008 11:43 AM:

    " It just very sad that the same people who defend a animal with such zeal are often the same people who want abortion on demand. You Hipocrites. "

    bear victim wrote on Aug 12, 2008 1:12 PM:

    " Your readers' ignorance and mean-spiritedness is just jaw-dropping. I was working ON MY PROPERTY- as I do every day. My dogs were asleep at the time of the attack. The bear was a new-comer, most likely a refugee from the fire up above . It was not injured, nor did I frighten it. It had been lying in wait for me all morning about 30 feet away as I worked with my dogs nearby. The previous night it had attacked a local dog. Later that afternoon it clawed through a neighbor's screendoor. "

    yer neighbor wrote on Aug 9, 2008 11:33 AM:

    " Mr. Perry, who is the ignorant one here? When Ms Hansen drove to the attack location she had to drive around a big ROAD CLOSED sign posted at Piut Mt and Walker Basin Roads. She did not have a right to go there at that time. You want to blame the Forest Servise “for its inability to protect this bears habitat and our forests from massive, unstoppable firerstorms.” The fire was probably started by some ignorant fool who didn’t think that high fire danger warnings apply to them. "

    BEAR HOME wrote on Aug 8, 2008 3:14 PM:

    " Come on. This is the home of bears and if the woman has the stones to say that it was a "bully", she's just not quite right. It's a bear. It's wild. She came to its home. "

    yer neighbor wrote on Aug 7, 2008 10:31 PM:

    " . I agree that her dogs probably antagonized the bear which Hansen said was sleeping and she was caught in the middle. In an interview Ms Hansen said that the bear should be killed because he “was a bully and had an ego problem”. Her son was quoted as saying “it would take a lot more than some punk bear to get rid of his mother”. Well there ya go. When you give wild animals human attributes you are asking for trouble. I think she should lay off of the Disney movies. "

    John Perry wrote on Aug 7, 2008 9:02 PM:

    " What a bunch of ignorant, uncaring individuals to say it was this poor womans fault. It was her right to walk her dogs in this area.
    This bear was probably confused and may have been injured. It was probably a refugee from the Piute fire.
    If you want to place blame, blame the Forest Service for its inability to protect this bears habitat and our forests from massive, unstoppable firerstorms. "

    bwelsh wrote on Aug 5, 2008 11:38 AM:

    " It's my opinion that the DOGS came up on the bear, Black Bears usally run from humans unless otherwise provoked. Sorry for the lady being hurt, but I beleive that she was defending her dogs that where NOT leashed at the time, and she got caught in the middle, and got attacked. We forget that us Mountain folk are living in the Bears Backyards. "

    OldHeathen wrote on Aug 4, 2008 12:59 PM:

    " When you go walking carry your gun with you then you can defend yourself.

    What a bunch of Pointy Headed Liberals!
    " not the bears fault " Why not go make nice with the bears like your numb buddy Timmy in Alaska. "

    Dave wrote on Jul 31, 2008 10:47 PM:

    " I agree that it is unfortunate that the bear attacked the woman. I may be wrong but they would feel euthanasia of the bear is advisable to study it for rabies.

    If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at the person who started the fire. Poor critters that suffered.

    You have to admit that it is pretty surprising how many bears were up there in the mountains. Pretty adaptable and survivable creatures. "

    David wrote on Jul 31, 2008 1:25 PM:

    " I'd be interested if the woman wants the bear killed. Another bear was spotted in Bodfish Wednesday. A third was killed in the past two weeks up here for bothering homes. The bears should be scared off with bear repellant, lights, and horns, not slaughtered. Don't wanna take the chance of being attacked? Move to Randsburg. "

    KAT wrote on Jul 29, 2008 2:15 PM:

    " I RELLY DON'T GET THE ANGER INVOLVED IN "AN ACCIDENT" CALM DOWN AND BE THANKFUL. LESSONS ARE LEANED DAILY. PEACE OUT. "

    This is Wilderness wrote on Jul 27, 2008 12:03 PM:

    " If you want to have them shoot all the bears and lions, then keep up dumb activities like taking dogs out to burn areas. This was "pilot error" by the woman, not the bear's fault. He was just being a bear. The woman was in his disrupted area. Leave the bear ALONE. "

    yer other neighbor wrote on Jul 23, 2008 8:06 PM:

    " I hope they don't catch the bear. I'm sure it's confused and in strange territory after being driven from its home after the fire. "

    Brainfull wrote on Jul 23, 2008 7:33 PM:

    " You can't sue over a bear attack. Too bad, so sad "

    yer neighbor wrote on Jul 22, 2008 7:19 PM:

    " This resident had no business “walking her dogs” along the Piute Mt road especially since the road was closed because of the Piute Fire. She had to drive more than three miles from her home to the area where the attack occurred to “walk her dogs”. Thankfully the dogs did survive the bear attack. I wouldn’t be surprised if a law suit is filed against the Forest Service, Kern County Fire Department or some other county agency because she didn’t use common sense. "

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