A black bear named ‘Big B*****d’ stalked a 71-year-old California woman for months before she was found mauled to death – as shocked locals give stark warning: ‘It’s easy pickins for them.’
Patrice Miller lived in the remote mountain town of Downieville. After the fatal attack she was found on the kitchen floor savaged with bite wounds and claw marks, and was partially eaten, according to the Sierra County deputy sheriff’s office.
Neighbor Cassie Koch, 55, who helped Miller with errands had not heard from her friend and asked deputies to do a welfare check before the grim discovery was made.
Miller, who lived alone with her two cats, had frequent run-ins with the bear – so often – that she gave the animal a nickname. Koch said, two weeks before her death, the bear tried to enter her home, but Miller was able to scare the bear off.
In September, Miller turned down a depredation permit from the State Department of Fish & Wildlife – considered a last-resort option that allows the animal to be shot before it causes serious harm, as per the department.
Koch described Miller, as a ‘kind person who wanted the bear trying to break into her house to be removed but not hurt,’ she told the San Francisco Chronicle.
Miller’s death is the first documented human fatality caused by a black bear in California’s state’s history.
Downieville, where that attack occurred, has a population of 105 according to a 2022 U.S. census.
The small town is located in Sierra County, on the North Fork of the Yuba River, and is approximately two hours from the state’s capital Sacramento.
Koch, 55, a longtime resident told the news outlet: ‘When I was a kid, you never saw a bear in town. Now, they’re all over, making their rounds.
She added: ‘It’s easy pickins for them.’
Koch said that before Miller died, she would often talk up the bear that was trying to enter her home, and was fearful.
‘Seemed like every other night the bear was trying to break into her house,’ Koch recalled.
‘At first, it was like, ‘Oh, this pesky bear.’ But then she seemed scared about it.’
According to a coroner’s report, Miller ‘had physically hit (a bear) to keep it from entering her residence,’ as per the news outlet.
When Miller was found her house had been ransacked, the cabinets were torn off and there was garbage strewn about.
A state depredation permit was issued and a bear was trapped on the property and euthanized, according to Fisher.
It took two days to catch the bear after the trap was placed, as reported by The Mountain Messenger.
An autopsy then revealed Miller passed away ‘due to a bear mauling or a swipe and a bite to the neck area.’
DNA tests confirmed that the first bear euthanized was responsible for killing Miller.
Officials explained that the bear that bothered Miller is known by officials as a ‘public safety bear,’ due to its repeatedly aggressive behavior.
For further protection, Miller had installed steel black bars across her windows.
According to officials, California’s black bear population has grown from approximately 10,000 bears to 15,000 since 1982 and up to a staggering 65,000 as of last year.
About 40% of the bears are believed to live in the Sierra Nevada, where there is an an excess amount of food that is accessible to them – and has invaded their natural ecosystem.
Experts believe that bears have learned to feel more comfortable in areas where humans are – making encounters more common but also more dangerous.