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
Officials said since the bear has shown aggressive behavior and has become human food-conditioned after eating from trash cans, it will be euthanized once caught.