A bear euthanized after a “boxing match” with a 71-year-old man in his Pine home had human DNA under its claws — confirmation that wildlife officials indeed captured the culpable bear.
Officials with the University of Wyoming Forensics Lab confirmed the finding, Colorado Parks and Wildlife announced Wednesday.
“This confirms the bear euthanized early Tuesday morning was the one in the attack,” according to a Parks and Wildlife news release.
About 8:45 p.m. Monday, the Pine man found a mother bear and her cub eating a loaf of bread in his kitchen. The sow attacked the man, and he punched her in the snout. The man’s wife pummeled the bear with a baseball bat, forcing the sow and her cub to flee the home. The man was not seriously injured. He did, however, suffer cuts on his arms, stomach and chest.
The bear was hunted by Parks and Wildlife officials and found Tuesday morning about 900 yards from the home where the attacked happened. The sow was euthanized. Officers did not find the cub.
“Typically following attacks, the paws, head or other tissue or hair samples are submitted for DNA testing to confirm if the animal is the one involved in an attack,” the news release said.
A necropsy of the bear, conducted Tuesday at Parks and Wildlife’s health lab, revealed that the sow was about 10 years old and weighed about 215 pounds. A “significant amount of trash” was found in her stomach.
