Woman injured by bear in west Medford
Sep. 7—A woman in west Medford was injured by a bear Monday evening when she surprised the bruin in her backyard.
Medford police reported a black bear attack in the 900 block of North Ross Lane. The victim called 911 at 8:41 p.m., but officials with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife were unable to locate the bear.
Matthew Vargas, assistant district wildlife biologist with ODFW, said the victim drove herself to the hospital. The woman sustained puncture and scratch wounds to her left arm and left leg. The bear was estimated to be 150-200 pounds.
"The landowner was messing around in their yard with a can for grass compost and went behind the shed, and when they came around the corner from behind the shed, stumbled upon the bear," Vargas said, noting that the woman was within 10 feet of the bear before noticing the animal.
Immediately after the bear began attacking the woman, one of her two dogs intervened, sustaining some scratches and puncture wounds but ultimately chasing the bear off the property. Witnesses reported the bear was hit by a car as it ran off.
The bear attack was one of several black bear sightings around the Rogue Valley over the past week — with some cougar reports sprinkled in for good measure.
Medford police Lt. Mark Cromwell said police received reports of several other bear sightings during the night. Cromwell said police were concerned with having a possibly injured bear at large in west Medford.
Cromwell said police were keeping a watchful eye and responding to any sightings. Cromwell and Vargas were unable to recall any bear attacks in recent history. Sightings are common, but attacks are extremely rare.
Law enforcement officials were unable to say whether the bear reported Monday night in Medford was the same animal reported early Sunday morning in Central Point, along Griffin Creek.
Central Point resident Shauna Frost reported a bear was recorded on her Ring doorbell camera around 3:23 a.m. Sunday. Frost, whose family had been away camping, received the notification on her phone on her way home.
Frost said neighbors in the area near Mae Richardson Elementary, Palo Verde and Brad Way reported seeing two bears, including a neighbor who was sitting on an outdoor patio as the bears clambered over a fence. Frost suspected the bears, which appeared to be wet in a photo from a neighbor's trail camera, had been in nearby Griffin Creek
"The photo was taken with night vision, and you can tell he's wet. We're thinking maybe he went for a swim and had some blackberries and then came up looking for something else to eat. We have a lot of old-growth trees in our area, so we were checking trees. We mostly wanted to make sure residents within our area knew to keep their dogs inside," Frost said.
"It was an interesting thing to come home to. We went out of town to find nature, and nature came to our house."
Central Point police Lt. Chadd Griffin said his department has kept an eye on the area where the bears were spotted. As a rule, Griffin said, his department tries to give wandering wildlife a chance to leave the area without incident, whenever possible.
"It's one of those things where, if they weren't acting aggressively, we try to let them clear the area on their own. There's a creek right there, so it's not a far stretch for a bear to travel that area. It's full of blackberries, usually they're just looking for something to eat. We get deer in the city in that area, too," Griffin said.
"Whenever we can, we'd rather shoo them out of the area, encourage them to move along without forcing a confrontation. Obviously Animal Control isn't going to do anything with a bear, so we defer to ODFW like anyone else if we need to."
He added, "Black bears from my personal experience in hunting and fishing, they're gonna run from you, especially if you make a lot of noise. This happened in the middle of the night, so we let them go on their way. Now, if we had been talking about lunchtime with the school right there and a bunch of kids outside, we'd be talking about a different scenario."
Several bear sightings were reported last weekend in Ashland, as well, though bear sightings are more common in Ashland than in other towns around the Rogue Valley, according to ODFW officials.
In addition to the bear sightings, Cromwell said, Medford police received multiple reports of "big cats" or cougars in the east Medford area, near McAndrews Road and along the Bear Creek Greenway. Cromwell urged residents to be aware of their surroundings and to report any sightings in populated areas to law enforcement in a timely manner.
ODFW officials sponsor a "Be Bear Aware" campaign with suggestions for handling any bear encounters. Key suggestions include preventing access to food sources — trash cans inside at night and barbecue areas clean and free of food debris — and keeping pets indoors at night.
If you encounter a bear, Medford police say:
* Make noise: Raise your voice, speak firmly, yell and clap your hands
* Do not run or make sudden movements.
* Back away slowly as you face the bear. It is never safe to approach it.
* Give any bear you encounter a way to escape.
* If you're on a trail, step off and slowly walk away.
* If you see bear cubs, steer clear and leave the area immediately.
For more on the ODFW Be Bear Aware campaign, see dfw.state.or.us/wildlife/living_with/black_bears.asp
Reach reporter Buffy Pollock at 541-776-8784 or bpollock@rosebudmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @orwritergal.
