Thursday, June 22, 2023

Black Bear Attacks and Kills Man Drinking Morning Coffee in Arizona

Sage Marshall
FIELD & STREAM
Tue, June 20, 2023 

There are around 3,000 black bears in Arizona.

A tragic fatal bear attack recently took place in Arizona's Yavapai County. According to a statement from the Yavapai County Sheriff's Office (YCSO), the unexpected attack took place on the morning of June 16. "At approximately 7:50 this morning, the YCSO dispatch center received multiple 911 calls about a man who was being mauled by a bear in the Groom Creek Area," wrote the agency on the day of the attack. "When YCSO deputies and Prescott PD arrived at the scene, which was in a heavily wooded remote area, they found Steven Jackson, 66 years old of Tucson dead of an apparent bear attack, and the bear dead nearby."

According to several witnesses, Jackson sitting at a table on his property, where he was building a house, having a morning coffee when the bear caught him by surprise, before dragging him 75 feet down an embankment. "Neighbors who heard the victim screaming tried to intervene through shouts and car horns, but the bear did not let go of Jackson until one neighbor was able to retrieve his rifle and shoot the bear," wrote the YCSO. "Unfortunately, by that time Jackson had succumbed to his horrible injuries."

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Fatal black bear attacks are extremely rare—especially ones predatory in nature, which this incident appears to be. Before this one, the most recent fatal black bear attack in the United States took place near Durango in 2021, when a woman was mauled and partially eaten.

In the Arizona attack, the offending bear was an adult male. Officials are still investigating the incident but so far have not found any evidence of unsecured food or cooking items that could have attracted the bear. The site of the attack is not near any camping areas. "Officials at the moment do not have a theory other than a predatory response by the bear," explained the YCSO. "Officials still caution revelers to take precautions when camping, such as locking up food in a vehicle and not leaving out items such as toothpaste that may bring a bear to your campsite."

"Our sincere sympathies go out to Mr. Jackson’s family,” said Yavapai County Sheriff David Rhodes. “I cannot express how deeply sad this situation is and can only say our prayers are with you.”

Mystery of huge bear that killed Arizona man deepens with new lab report



Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office

Helena Wegner
Wed, June 21, 2023 at 1:02 PM MDT·2 min read

The mystery around an unusual bear attack in Arizona has deepened after wildlife officials released a health report of the dead animal.

A male black bear attacked 66-year-old Steven Jackson as he was drinking coffee and dragged him 75 feet down an embankment June 16, in the Groom Creek area near Prescott, the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

Wildlife officials called the fatal mauling unusual and “predatory in nature.”

A necropsy was conducted on the 365-pound animal, which officials estimated being 7 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.

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