CO - Woman found dead after apparent bear attack, Durango, 1 May 2021

[YaYa_521]

This is so sadly tragic for this unnamed lady. My thoughts go out to her loved ones. I'm shocked the dogs went back home without her. I wonder if they tried protecting their mom? If so, I hope they weren't injured. The report says an autopsy will be done by early in the week.

Rest in peace, Ms.

A woman was found dead after an apparent bear attack in Colorado

"The woman, a Durango resident, was believed to have gone walking with her two dogs earlier Friday...[snip] The boyfriend had last heard from the woman that morning, and when he returned home around 8:30 p.m., he "discovered the two dogs outside of their home, but the woman was missing,"...[snip] "He started searching for her and discovered her body around 9:30 p.m." ... [snip] "CPW wildlife officers responded and observed signs of consumption on the body and an abundance of bear scat and hair at the scene."

 

[MajorHoople]

From the Daily Mail. Some of the reader comments are perplexing to me.

Dogwalker killed by bear on rural trail sparking Colorado authorities to euthanize a mama bear | Daily Mail Online

"A 39-year-old Colorado woman has died in an apparent black bear attack while out walking her dogs, authorities said on Saturday.

The woman's boyfriend found her body on Friday night near the town of Durango, about 350 miles southwest of Denver, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a statement.

The man told police he arrived home around 8:30 p.m. and found the couple's two dogs outside, but his girlfriend was missing.

He then searched a trail on private land where she frequently walked the dogs and notified authorities after discovering her body.

The woman's name has not yet been released by authorities."

 

[YaYa_521]

So wait. I assumed she had been walking the dogs down the trail, which was on private land. The report I linked above didn't specify, but I assumed the dogs were roaming around outside his home when bf arrived. Today's report says the dogs were leashed? So then...what happened? I wonder why she went on the walk w/o her dogs? In @MajorHoople's post, it mentioned she "frequently walked the dogs" along the trail. Was it common for this lady to also walk down the trail w/o her dogs? If not, why did she on that particular day? Would bears drag her down the trail from in front of the home? Is that possible? If it is, there would be evidence of that, right?

This is odd. She is definitely one unlucky lady considering she is only the 4th known bear attack victim in Colorado since 1960 and it happened on a day when she decided to walk w/o her dogs. I suppose she wasn't in the habit of carrying bear spray or a gun either. Strange. Strange. Strange, I tell ya.

There is more at the link about bears and attack stats.

2 bears found near Colorado woman’s body had human remains in stomachs, wildlife officials say
3 May 2021

Human remains were found in the stomachs of two of the three black bears euthanized in Colorado after a woman was found dead in a suspected bear attack Friday night, wildlife officials said.

The body of the 39-year-old woman was discovered in Trimble, north of Durango, after her boyfriend returned home and found her two dogs outside and still leashed but no sign his girlfriend, Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials said. He found her body after searching for about an hour and then called 911.

Snip

An autopsy is expected to be conducted on the woman’s body Tuesday to determine the cause of death and identify the remains.

From the Daily Mail. Some of the reader comments are perplexing to me.

Dogwalker killed by bear on rural trail sparking Colorado authorities to euthanize a mama bear | Daily Mail Online

"A 39-year-old Colorado woman has died in an apparent black bear attack while out walking her dogs, authorities said on Saturday.

The woman's boyfriend found her body on Friday night near the town of Durango, about 350 miles southwest of Denver, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said in a statement.

The man told police he arrived home around 8:30 p.m. and found the couple's two dogs outside, but his girlfriend was missing.

He then searched a trail on private land where she frequently walked the dogs and notified authorities after discovering her body.

The woman's name has not yet been released by authorities."

Snipped

The woman's death is just the fourth fatal mauling in the state since record-keeping began in 1960.

snip

Colorado is home to an estimated 19,000 black bears, Parks and Wildlife spokesman Jason Clay said.

The agency has documented three other fatal black bear attacks on humans since it began tracking them 61 years ago, Clay said.

 

[Cistenews]

This is a tragic event, and a sad reminder that bears are wild and potentially dangerous.

"CPW has received a few reports from the Durango area of bears becoming active this spring. The majority of these have been sighting reports. On April 19, a resident along the Animas River and La Plata County Road 250 captured a single bear on his game camera and reported that the bear tore down his bird feeder. On March 23, CPW received a report of a bear getting into trash east of Durango off Florida Road."

 

[Catmommy]

I think, perhaps, the dogs being "leashed" means that they still had their leashes attached to their collars, not that they were tied or secured by their leashes.

 

[Shamrock1]

I think, perhaps, the dogs being "leashed" means that they still had their leashes attached to their collars, not that they were tied or secured by their leashes.

That was my assumption as well - the dogs made it back home with their leashes, but without their owner.

 

[MajorHoople]

Pictured: Colorado woman, 39, found dead by boyfriend after being eaten by bears | Daily Mail Online

"A woman eaten by bears as she walked her dog has been named as a 39 year-old 'adventurer,' as a coroner said she died from 'perforating' neck wounds.

Laney Malavolta, 39, was identified four days after being killed while walking her two dogs near Durango, Colorado, on April 30.

Malavolta's partner Justin Rengel made the grim discovery after returned to their home around 8:30pm the same evening."

"A subsequent necropsy, similar to a human autopsy, showed that the sow and one of the two yearlings had human remains in the digestive tracts.

Cory Chick, CPW's regional manager, said the sow was potentially teaching its yearlings that humans are a source of food, not something to fear or avoid, making them dangerous to people.

'We cannot determine with exact certainty how or why this attack took place,' Chick said in the announcement of the necropsy findings, 'but it is important for the public not to cast blame on this woman for the unfortunate and tragic event."

 

[margarita25]

Uggghhhh. Poor today and her family.