Photo: Leah Lokan/Facebook
A Grizzly bear had become “food conditioned,” which prompted the animal to fatally attack a California woman in western Montana last summer, according to theInteragency Grizzly Bear Committee.
“Many bears living in Montana, at one time or another, encounter unnatural foods such as garbage, grains, and bird feeders, and may be considered ‘mildly food conditioned.’ However, the circumstantial evidence gathered on this bear indicates a higher level of ‘food-conditioned’ behavior,” according to the 26-page report.
The champion cyclist, of Chico, California, was in the area along with her sister and a friend to ride along the Great Divide Mountain Bike route, according to theAssociated Press.
Despite the fact that Lokan moved the food from her tent after the first encounter with the bear, the report stated that two bags with toiletries, which previously held dried blueberries, “still had the scent of berries on them” and that no other food was found in the tent.
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The investigation found that food in the saddle bags of Lokan’s bike, which was propped against the building 10 feet from her tent, was not removed from the area.
“The presence of food, initially in the tent and in close proximity, is likely why the bear returned to the tents a second time,” according to the report.
The can, assumed to be Lokan’s, had a “fresh oily residue on the outside and had a strong odor of capsaicin, suggesting it had been deployed the morning of the attack,” the committee said.
Tom Bauer/Missoulian/AP
The report’s findings are based on investigations, personal statements and documentations of personnel with the Powell County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks (MFWP) and the Powell County Coroner’s Office, the committee said.
source: people.com
