California Black Bear Kills Elderly Woman Inside Her Home, Feeds on Her Remains for Weeks 🍽️

If you’re still with us, that means you’ve made it to the middle of yet another week.

With that in mind, let’s all take a minute to grab a coffee or whiskey (no judgement) and get another mid-week dispatch out the door.

Here's what's worth reading about so far this week:

• California confusion - Bureaucracy gets in the way of bear management 🐻

• White grizz and cubs killed - In an incident perhaps more rare than their very existence 🐻‍❄️

• 15 deer, one night - NC poachers caught on camera 🚔

• Desperate measures - A Colorado man was forced to shoot a deer that was attacking his pregnant daughter 🤰

• Bull on parade - A bull jumps the fence at a rodeo, inflicts harm 🐂

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CDFW DROPPED THE BALL
CALIFORNIA BLACK BEAR KILLS ELDERLY WOMAN INSIDE HER HOME, FEEDS ON HER REMAINS FOR WEEKS

It might have taken some finger pointing and a whole lot of red tape, but California’s first case of death by black bear has now officially been confirmed. The incident, which took place back in November of last year, was shrouded with confusion, ineptitude and a rather large mis-diagnosis when it comes to the cause of death.

Last November, 71-year-old Patrice Miller was mauled to death inside her own home and although the bear was eventually trapped and euthanized, it took officials until May of this year to confirm whether they had killed the correct bear. Recent reports indicated that this was the result of significant miscommunication between local law enforcement and California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife. In what was later referred to as “bureaucratic problems” by the sheriff’s office, these issues took the case down a twisted path that resulted in a ton of confusion regarding the unfortunate death.

“Upon showing up, [deputies] immediately saw evidence of bear intrusion into the house. The door was broken. There was bear scat on the porch,” Sierra County Sheriff Mike Fisher told KCRA News, referring to the welfare check at Miller’s home. He went on to explain that Miller hadn’t been seen in a few days.

“It appeared that the bear had probably been there several days and had been feeding on the remains,” Fisher later said.

According to a Facebook post made by the sheriff’s office on November 14th, it seemed as though officials were under the impression that Miller was already dead when the bear was attracted to her home based on “the scent or other factors.” But Sheriff Fisher wasn’t convinced, and continued his investigation as though the bear had been responsible for Patrice Miller’s death…

🐻‍❄️ White grizzly + cubs killed - In a string of incidents almost as rare as their existence, a white grizzly bear sow and her two cubs were all struck and killed by vehicles in separate instances last week. Parks Canada officials received a report last Thursday that the pair of white cubs were struck and killed by a motorist in Yoho National Park. 

On the evening of the very same day, the cubs mother - known as Grizzly Bear 178 - was apparently startled by an on-coming train and darted out into the busy roadway. While one motorist was able to maneuver around the white bruin, a second vehicle was unable to avoid her.  She limped off the roadway, which left on-lookers optimistic about her condition, but within 24 hours of the incident, Parks Canada officials received the mortality signal from her GPS-collar.

🚔 15 deer, one night - Most poachers tend to spread out their crimes across several days or even months. But for a pair of dimwits in North Carolina, they went all out in one single evening and illegally knocked off 15 deer in one sitting. State officials received an anonymous tip from the state’s Turn-In-Poachers Program, which included photographic evidence of the guilty parties and the 15 deer they blasted. As it turns out, one of the poachers decided to circulate the photos of their escapades, something dimwitted criminals simply cannot seem to resist.

As a result of their crimes, Dylan Scott of New Hanover County and Nicholas Rackley of Duplin County have been ordered to pay $9,030 in replacement costs for illegally killing 15 deer with the use and aid of an artificial light. Scott was fined $1,500, his hunting license will be revoked for 10 years, and he received five years of supervised probation. Rackley was ordered to pay $750 and his hunting license will be revoked for five years.

“It’s a big penalty we hope sends a strong message,” Capt. Chad Arnold, who heads NCWRC’s Investigative Unit and NC WILDTIP program, said in a statement. “We typically don’t see punishments like this, but we also typically don’t find individuals who kill 15 deer in one night’s illegal escapades.”

🧑‍⚖️ Sentencing complete - Jail time has been handed down to a man in connection to an unfortunate 2020 hunting accident that left a father and daughter dead. According to reports, four hunters were attempting to drive deer on a New Year’s Day hunt when two of them were accidentally shot in the process.

Sean Peterson, 33, pled guilty to two counts of negligent use of a firearm while engaged in hunting, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). He was sentenced to five years in prison and four years of probation following time served.

“Peterson fired at a noise from the bushes without identifying his target,” SCDNR wrote on X. The Colleton County Coroner identified the victims of that shooting as Lauren Drawdy, 9, and Kim Drawdy, 30.

ANOTHER CERVID ATTACK
COLORADO MAN SHOOTS AGGRESSIVE DEER AFTER IT ATTACKS HIS PREGNANT DAUGHTER

According to a release from Colorado Parks and Wildlife, officials responded to an incident that took place last Friday evening just outside of Colorado Springs that included a female deer, a couple of dogs and one pregnant young lady.

Jumping the fence into the pregnant woman’s backyard, the doe proceeded to take after her two dogs. Flailing at the dogs and attempting to stomp them, the pregnant woman stepped in between the deer and her dogs in an attempt to scare the deer away.  It was at this moment that the deer then turned her attention to the pregnant woman and “reared up on its hind legs” to charge her.

Unbeknownst to the attacking deer, the woman’s father had a different (and more effective) method of attack. Loading his shotgun with a number of rubber buckshot that he had previously received to scare off black bears, he began firing at the raging deer.

Despite landing a few shots to the animal’s torso, she showed no signs of slowing down, leaving her father no choice but to use something a little heavier…

VIDEO // ^{_{SOME THINGS JUST HAVE TO BE SEEN}}

🚌 This is my stop - Watch as a deer busts through a bus window in Warwick, RI earlier this week. The freak accident resulted in minor injuries to three passengers and the unfortunate death of the deer.

🐂 Bull on parade: A terrifying incident was captured on film when a rodeo bull, aptly named “Party Bus” jumped the fence at an Oregon rodeo and wreaked havoc in the crowd, resulting in the injuries of three spectators.