Couple Fights Off Black Bear with Hatchet During Attack in California Mountains

The attack occurred around 6 a.m. in the Old Mammoth area of Mammoth Lakes, a Sierra Nevada mountain town near Yosemite National Park, when a woman went outside after hearing her dog barking and found a 70-pound, 17-month-old black bear fighting with the animal. A second dog escaped outside during the confrontation, and as the woman tried to intervene, the bear turned on her, biting and clawing her — injuries visibly documented by claw wounds and bruising on her torso. Her male partner came outside to help but was also aggressively confronted by the bear; the woman struck the animal with a water bottle until he could escape, after which he retrieved a hatchet from inside and struck the bear multiple times with its blunt end, critically injuring it and ending the attack. The couple drove themselves to Mammoth Hospital and are both expected to recover fully, while their dogs sustained only minor injuries. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife determined the bear posed a threat to public safety and euthanized it. Mammoth Lakes Police Chief Dan Casabian emphasized that such aggressive bear behavior is highly unusual, as bears in the region almost always avoid humans.