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California man shot black bear that repeatedly bit him and had ‘standoff’ with his dog

A California resident was repeatedly bitten by a black bear that charged at him in his yard — before he shot it to save his dog.

The unidentified man was confronted Friday after seeing why his pooch had bolted when let out of his home in Calpine, a small rural town on the edge of Tahoe National Forest, according to the Sierra County Sheriff’s Office.

When the man went outside, “a bear emerged from his neighbor’s yard and charged at him,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Tuesday.

“Regrettably, the bear did not stop, and the Calpine resident sustained bites on his hand, wrist, and leg.”

The victim managed to get away and “hurried back into the house, where he retrieved a shotgun,” the statement said.

“Fearing for his dog’s safety, the resident went outside and ultimately shot the bear while it was in a standoff with his dog,” the sheriff’s office said.

The resident went to a local hospital for treatment, but “did not require hospitalization,” the statement said, without elaborating on how bad the bite wounds were. It was not clear if his pet dog was hurt.

A man in Calpine, California shot and killed a black bear after it bit him and was in a standoff with his dog.
A man in Calpine, California shot and killed a black bear after it bit him and was in a standoff with his dog. Adobe Stock

After he reported the attack, staff from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife found the bear “wounded from the gunshot the previous night.”

“Wildlife officials euthanized the bear and transported it to Sacramento for a necropsy and rabies testing,” the sheriff’s department said.

The bear’s carcass was then taken to Sacramento for a necropsy and rabies screening, the results of which are pending.