Bear Attack Victim Might Have Interrupted Mating Session, Officials Said

MONROVIA, CA — A hiker who was attacked Monday by a pair of bears in the Angeles National Forest above Sierra Madre might have interrupted a mating session, a California Fish and Wildlife official said.

Dan Richman was hiking alone at around noon on Jones Peak Trail when he encountered a bear, which officials believe was full-grown. Richman said he tried to scare away the bear when he was attacked by a second bear. Fish and Wildlife officials said he could have stumbled upon a mating session.

"That's one theory," CFW spokesman Andrew Hughan said. "When animals are surprised they attack, so it could have been a mating pair."

Wildlife officials are looking into that possibility, he said, but nothing is conclusive yet.

Speaking to reporters from his hospital bed Tuesday, Richman said he experienced "a different type of fright."

"All of a sudden I come across this bear standing on its hind legs, and it's probably maybe 60, 70 feet in front of me," Richman told KCAL 9 from Methodist Hospital in Arcadia. Richman said he yelled as loud as he could in hopes of scaring the bear off, but as he backed away, he encountered a second bear, leaving him trapped. He said he tried to run, but the second bear grabbed him, first by the wrist and then on a leg.

"I pretty much right away felt its strength, and then it got me down on the ground," he said. "I was on my hands and knees and it had its mouth around my neck."

Richman said he decided to remain quiet and perfectly still, and the bear released him.

"There was a few moments there where I thought, you know, I might not get through this," he told the station.

Hughan said running during a bear encounter is a mistake.

You want to "look large, make a lot of noise, throw a rock at it and stand your ground," he said. "Don't run away."

Richman was able able to escape back into town, where a neighbor spotted him and called 911. He suffered cuts and scratches to his head, feet and upper body in the attack.

Wildlife officials have swabbed his clothes and wounds as well as the attack area for DNA. If the attacking bear is found, then it will likely be put down, Hughan said.

The San Gabriels are home to black bears, which usually forage in the morning or evening hours.

"It's unusually but not rare that they'd be out during the day," Hughan said.

Bailey Canyon Wilderness Park is closed until further notice as wildlife officials set traps in hopes of finding the attacking bear.

-- City News Service contributed to this report, photo via Pixabay