Food-conditioned black bear charges Ketchum resident
A Ketchum woman had a face-to-face encounter with an aggressive black bear early Wednesday morning, June 23 when a late night walk through her neighborhood took a serious turn when she faced a food-conditioned bear in the area of lower Warm Springs in Ketchum. The neighborhood streets were lined with garbage carts prior to pick-up the next day, which attracts black bears into area neighborhoods looking for an easy high-calorie meal. While the direct encounter was alarming, no physical contact was made and the woman did not suffer any physical injury.
Reports of a very large black bear began to come into the Ketchum Police Department on the evening of June 22 that a bear had been seen in an area of lower Warm Springs, prompting local officers to patrol and notify residents who were opportunistically outside their homes. Later that evening, a local resident took a walk, with a headlamp and bear spray on her hip. Within minutes, the bear and woman crossed paths, leading to the bear exhibiting aggressive postures and vocalizations, and ultimately charging at her causing her to retreat to a neighborhood house. The encounter happened so fast, she was not able to even take the bear spray out of the holster.