NORTH AMERICAN BLACK BEAR ATTACKS
On average bears kills two or three people and injure one or two dozen a year in North America, with these numbers equally divided among brown bears and more numerous black bears. There have been a number of attacks by bears encountering people at garbage dumps.
Dru Sefton of the Newhouse News Service wrote: Statistics on bear attacks are difficult to compile. Many happen in remote wilderness and go unreported. University of Calgary environmental scientist Stephen Herrero, author of " Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance," estimated that on average, bears kill three people and seriously injure between five and 15 annually in North America. "Overall the injury rates are very low considering the millions of interactions that occur each year," he added. But in August, Herrero told the Calgary Herald that the number of bear attacks this year is among the highest since biologists began keeping records 28 years ago. Specific numbers were unavailable. [Source: Dru Sefton, Newhouse News Service, Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 1, 2000]
Dru Sefton of the Newhouse News Service wrote in 2000:“ In late May, a black bear preyed upon hiker Glenda Ann Bradley about 10 miles outside Gatlinburg, Tenn. It was the first recorded black bear fatality in the history of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Then, early in July, Canadian biathlete Mary Beth Miller was killed by a black bear outside Quebec City. After that, human-bear conflicts made news all summer: Black bears clawed or bit four Boy Scouts in July at the Philmont Scout Ranch in northeastern New Mexico. In August, two backpackers were charged by a bear of undetermined species in Glacier National Park in Montana. One was bitten on the thighs and hips. In September, attacks have been reported in Clam Falls, Wis and Grand Junction, Colo. [Source: Dru Sefton, Newhouse News Service, Cleveland Plain Dealer, October 1, 2000]
Black Bear Attacks in Canada
In August 1997, a black bear killed two people and injured two in British Columbia. Associated Press reported: “A mother from Texas was mauled to death by a black bear in a remote park in British Columbia as her two children watched helplessly. A man who tried to save Patti McConnell, 37, of Paris, Texas, also was killed by the bear. McConnell's 13-year-old son and a college student were mauled by the animal as well but survived. Royal Canadian Mounted Police said Raymond Kitchen, 56, of Fort Nelson, B.C., was killed while trying to save McConnell. Kitchen is believed to have been an experienced hunter who was familiar with the habits of bears. Hikers who witnessed the attack at Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park threw rocks and sticks to try to distract the bear without avail. Authorities said McConnell had been walking through the brush between hot springs with her son, Kelly, and daughter, Kristen, 7, when the attack occurred. The bear was shot and killed by a tourist who rushed to get a weapon. [Source: Associated Press, August 17, 1997]
Kelly McConnell and a 20-year-old Calgary man suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were airlifted to Fort Nelson, 125 miles southwest of the park near the British Columbia-Yukon border. The Calgary man, one of several university students conducting research in the park, suffered serious leg injuries. Provincial officials said it was the first fatal bear attack in British Columbia this year. Six people were injured and one person was killed by bears in the province in 1996, while there were 11 injuries and two deaths in 1995. The chances of being attacked by a black bear remain extremely rare, said Matt Austin, a specialist in large carnivores with the provincial Environment Ministry.
In November 2012, an elderly couple out for walk survived bear attack near Kimberley, British Columbia. CNN reported: The woman was walking in front when she encountered a bear and cubs who were near a dead deer. turned on him and began attacking him, then turned back to her. Somehow the couple managed to fight the animal off, and it left, Jalbert said. The husband is in his 80s. The wife is in her 60s. Both were rushed to Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary and remain in stable condition. Both have head wounds and bites on their arms and legs. Jalbert said authorities believe the bear was a grizzly, but the husband said he thought it might be a black bear. If a bear is determined to have attacked someone, often it is put down, Jalbert said. During this time of year in that area, bears are starting to hibernate. Because this bear has cubs, it may be out of its den longer to gather food, Jalbert said. [Source: CNN, November 26, 2012]
Black Bear Kills 71-Year-Old Woman in California
In November 2014, 71-year-old Patrice Miller was found dead and half-eaten by a bear in her home in Downieville, California. Jessica Garrison and Lila Seidman wrote in the Los Angeles Times: “Miller lived by herself in a small yellow house beneath towering mountain peaks on the edge of a burbling river. One fall afternoon, after Miller had failed for several days to make her customary appearance at the town market, a store clerk asked authorities to check on her. A short time later, a sheriff’s deputy found Miller’s lifeless body in her kitchen. Her right leg and left arm had been partially gnawed off. On the floor around her were the large paw prints of a bear.” It was assumed that Miller, who had been in poor health, must have died before the bear came into her home and devoured her. Released months after her death, an autopsy determined that Miller had likely been killed by the animal after it broke into her home. It marked the first known instance in California history of a fatal bear attack on a human.[Source: Jessica Garrison, Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, May 15, 2025]
After Miller stopped showing up around town, there were calls for a welfare check. A little before 3 p.m. on Nov. 8, 2023, Deputy Malcolm Fadden approached Miller’s home. The security bars on the kitchen window had been ripped off. The window itself had been busted from the outside. “I knocked on the door,” Fadden wrote in his report, but got no answer. Through the window, he saw blood streaked across the living room floor. He took out his gun and burst into the house, where he was greeted by a giant pile of bear scat. He found Miller in the kitchen, her half-eaten body surrounded by food and garbage, which, Fadden wrote, had been “apparently scattered by bears.”
The local sheriff issued a news release saying that the death was under investigation, but that “it is believed that Patrice Miller passed away before a bear, possibly drawn by the scent or other factors, accessed the residence.” After performing an autopsy, however, the pathologist on contract with Sierra County came to a different conclusion. She issued a report that found that Miller had “deep hemorrhage of the face and neck“ as well as "puncture injuries (consistent with claw ‘swipe’ or ‘slap’).” These injuries, she noted, were “characteristics more suggestive of a vital reaction by a living person.” In short: The pathologist found that Miller was probably killed by the bear.
Background Behind the Black Bear Attack in California
According to the Los Angeles Times: Founded in 1849,Downieville, population 300, is one of California’s oldest towns, and also one of its quaintest. Colorfully painted wooden buildings sit at the junction of two rivers, beneath majestic pines and mountain peaks. Along with tourists, who flood in in the summer for rafting and mountain biking, the town also receives frequent visits from bears and mountain lions. More recently, wolves have arrived with deadly force, snatching domesticated cattle off the open pastures that stretch across the plains on the other side of the mountains east of town. Longtime residents in the area were used to the challenges of living among wild animals. But in the summer of 2023, Sierra County Sheriff Mike Fisher said he started getting an overwhelming number of calls about problem bears. “We had three or four habituated bears that were constantly here in town,” said Fisher. "They had zero fear. I would say, almost daily, we were having to go out and chase these bears away, haze them.”[Source: Jessica Garrison, Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, May 15, 2025]
Bears have a sharp sense of smell, a long memory for food sources and an incredible sense of direction. If a tourist tosses them a pizza crust or the last bits of an ice cream cone, or leaves the lid off a trash can, they will return again and again, even if they are relocated miles away. That summer, Fisher said, no matter what he did, the bears kept lumbering back into town. It was unlike anything he had experienced, he said, and he had grown up in Downieville. “A police car with an air horn or the siren, we would push the bear up out of the community. Fifteen minutes later, they were right back downtown,” he said.
And then there were the bears harassing Miller and her neighbors. “There were three bears,” said Patty Hall, who lives just up the hill from the home Miller rented. “Twice a night they would walk up and down our [porch] stairs. The Ring cameras were constantly going off.” Fisher said some of Miller’s neighbors complained that she was part of the lure, because she was not disposing of her garbage properly. Some also alleged she was tossing food on her porch for her cats — and that the bears were coming for it. Miller’s daughter later told sheriff’s officials that bears were “constantly trying" to get into her house, and that “her mother had physically hit one” to keep it out. One particular bear, which Miller had nicknamed “Big Bastard,” was a frequent pest. Eventually, officials with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife were called and told Miller she could sign a “depredation permit,” after which authorities could kill bears trying to get into her house. But Miller declined to do so, Fisher said.
Black Bear Kills Man Drinking Coffee in His Yard in Arizona
In June 2023, a black bear fatally attacked a 66-year-old in Arizon who was drinking coffee in his yard and dragged him 75 feet down an embankment, authorities in Arizona said. Helena Wegner wrote in Sacramento Bee: Authorities responded to the mauling at about 7:50 a.m. June 16, in the Groom Creek area near Prescott, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post. Before the attack, Steven Jackson had been drinking coffee outside on the property where he was building a home, deputies said. Then a bear attacked Jackson by surprise and dragged him 75 feet down an embankment, authorities said. [Source: Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, June 17, 2023]
Neighbors heard him screaming and tried to scare off the bear by shouting and blaring their car horns, deputies said. But the animal wouldn’t let go of Jackson. One neighbor shot the animal dead with their rifle, deputies said. Jackson had already died from his injuries. The Arizona Game and Fish Department investigated the attack and said it was “predatory in nature” and “highly uncommon and unusual.” “At first glance there did not appear to be anything on the site that would have precipitated an attack by the bear, such as food, a cooking site or access to water,” deputies said in the post. The attack happened in a “heavily wooded area” but not near any camping sites. Officials warned people to take camping precautions, such as locking food in vehicles.
A necropsy was conducted on the 165-kilograms (365-pound) bear, which officials estimated being seven to 10 years old, the Arizona Game and Fish Department said in a June 21 news release. The bear was determined to be in “good condition with no apparent signs of disease,” according to Dr. Anne Justice-Allen, a wildlife veterinarian who performed the examination. Human remains, vegetation and seeds were found in the bear’s stomach, wildlife officials said. Its body fat also pointed to it being in “good nutritional condition.” And the bear tested negative for rabies, officials said. A bear last tested positive for rabies in Arizona in 1971, according to Arizona Game and Fish. Lastly, the report determined the animal’s cause of death was from multiple gunshot wounds. A neighbor heard Jackson screaming and shot the animal dead, officials said. [Source: Helena Wegner, Sacramento Bee, June 22, 2023]
Woman In Alaska Punches Black Bear in the Nose to Save Her Dog
In August 2011, a 22-year-old woman in Alaska said she punched a black bear in the face to save her small dog from being carried off and possibly eaten. Reuters reported: Juneau resident Brooke Collins said she hit the bear Sunday night to save the life of her dachshund, Fudge. She said she discovered the bear crouched down, clutching Fudge in its paws and biting the back of the dog's neck. “It had her kind of like when they eat salmon,” Collins said. “I was freaking out. I was screaming at it. My dog was screaming. I ran up to it . . . I just punched it right in the snout and it let go.” [Source: Yereth Rosen, Reuters, September 01, 2011
Collins said her boyfriend then scared the bear away. “I think it was more startled than anything,” she said. Collins, a hairdresser who has lived in Juneau most of her life, said she is accustomed to bears and knows how to take precautions around them. She also knew about this particular bear before the attack because it has been hanging around the neighborhood.
In this case, however, Fudge darted out the door before anyone checked the vicinity, she said. The dog, an older female, was not seriously hurt in the attack, but Collins said she is tending to the animal's wounds and keeping her inside for now. Collins said she is also taking other precautions with her second dog.
Black bears frequently roam the downtown section of Alaska's capital city, which rests against a steep mountain slope and is surrounded by a dense rain forest. Bear encounters were on the rise in 2011 despite efforts by local residents to lock away garbage and remove items that might attract the animals, said Neil Barten, a Juneau-based biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “This year, I think, is a lot worse than last year. I would attribute that to lack of a berry crop,” Barten said. Production of berries around Juneau has been poor this summer, removing a key food source from the bears' diets. “If they are not available, the bears look for other sources of food,” he said. Bears and dogs sometimes snarl at each other, but actual attacks on dogs are unusual, he said. Collins said her dog Fudge has chased bears but never been attacked before. The black bear she punched returned Tuesday, she said, because it was a trash pick-up day.
Black Bear Attacks on People Walking Their Dogs
In December 2014, a 15-year-old girl in Panama City, Florida was attacked by a bear while walking here dog. WMBB-TV reported: Leah Reeder, 15, sustained injuries to her legs, back, neck and face. The girl was walking her dog when the bear attacked and dragged her into a ditch. "The worst injuries are to her face," the teens mother said. "She has a huge laceration on top of her head and one across her forehead and deep, deep puncture wounds to the side of her head." The girl says she first tried screaming for help, but then she remembered to "play dead." Her dog then charged at the bear and the animal stopped its attack and ran back off into the woods. Wildlife officials are now looking for the bear. This is the second bear attack in the area. In the other incident, a woman suffered wounds to her head and required 30 stitches. [Source: KTRK, ABC13 news, December 22, 2014]
In August 2014, man and his dog were attacked by a black bear Thursday afternoon in a wooded area of the George Washington National Forest in Hardy County, West Virginia, near Rt. 55. WHAG reported: According to the Frederick County Sheriff's Office in Virginia, the man identified as Steven Krichbaum, 59, of Staunton, Va., was walking in the woods with his dog when they came upon a black bear and two cubs. The black bear in response to Krichbaum and his dog's presence, attacked them. Krichbaum and his dog attempted to fend off the attack and were subsequently injured in the process. [Source: WHAG News, August 21, 2014]
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said Krichbaum was on national forest land in an area known to have a healthy bear population with an unleashed dog. After disturbing a family of bears, the dog reportedly chased after and began attacking the cubs. As a result, the female bear charged at the man, officials say. When the dog began attacking the female bear, it gave the man a chance to find a rock and hit the bear in order to scare her off, they said. Both Krichbaum and his dog were severely injured. Krichbaum and the dog were able to make their way to his parked vehicle and drive to Richards Fruit Market, located at 6410 Middle Road in Frederick County, Virginia, in an attempt to get medical assistance.
Bear Kills a College Student in New Jersey
In August 2014, a 22-year-old Rutgers University student was killed in a black bear attack. The victim took five photographs of the bear before t killed him. UPI reported: Patel was hiking with a group of friends in Apshawa Preserve in West Milford when they came upon the bear about 100 meters feet away. When the animal got within 15 feet, the five hikers spllit up, running in different directions. A state Fish and Wildlife report said the group had been warned about the bear by a couple they encountered a short time before who said the bear had been following them. But Patel and his friends continued down the trail because they hoped to see the animal. "They stopped and took photographs of the bear with their cell phones and the bear began walking towards them," the report said. [Source: Frances Burns, UPI, December 26, 2014]
Patel's friends said they last saw him scrambling up some rocks. He had lost a shoe and the bear was closing in. They called 911. Police found his body about four hours later. A bear shot by police had human remains in its stomach and blood and flesh under its claws. That bear was found near the body, and was behaving aggressively, although it was not immediately clear if it was the same bear that killed Patel.
Bears had been wiped out in New Jersey, but the population has rebounded to about 2,500 from animals crossing into the state from New York and Pennsylvania. There were no fatal attacks on record in New Jersey, although about 60 people have been killed by bears in the United States in a century. There had been a couple of non-fatal bear attack in New Jersey. In August 2011, a bear invaded a Sussex County camp where a group of nine boys and two counselors were sleeping at 4:30 a.m. The bear pulled a sleeping bag and swiped at a tent, knocking it down. No one was hurt. In July 2009, a bear took a sub sandwich a man had left outside his car in Vernon, then attacked the man. The victim suffered a head injury and dislocated shoulder.
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, CNTO (China National Tourism Administration) David Attenborough books, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.
Last updated May 2025