(KTLA) — A California man is being criticized after he shot and killed a bear in his yard last week that he claimed was getting into his chicken coop.
The incident happened on Nov. 13 in Arrowbear Lake, a small mountain community in San Bernardino County. The man, identified only as Chris, reported the shooting to the county sheriff’s department. He previously told authorities that the bear had charged at him before.
“I’ve done everything I can to prevent this bear,” he told Nexstar’s KTLA. “I had an electric fence. The bear went right through it no matter what. I had a bunch of deterrents. The bear kept coming. I even bear sprayed him, and he still kept coming.”
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife determined that the homeowner was justified in fatally shooting the animal. Under California Fish and Game code 4181.1, “any bear that is encountered while in the act of inflicting injury to, molesting or killing livestock may be taken immediately by the owner of the livestock.”
A home in the San Bernardino mountains where a bear was shot and killed on Nov. 13, 2024. (KTLA) A home in the San Bernardino mountains where a bear was shot and killed on Nov. 13, 2024. (KTLA) A home in the San Bernardino mountains where a bear was shot and killed on Nov. 13, 2024. (KTLA) A chicken coop at a home in the San Bernardino Mountains where the homeowner shot and killed a bear on Nov. 13, 2024. (KTLA)
Mike Kutz, who lives nearby, told KTLA he heard multiple gunshots during the Nov. 13 incident.
“I heard three or four gunshots and then, a few minutes later, I heard another two more gunshots,” Kutz said, adding that the bear was no stranger to the neighborhood.
“He would just walk up the street, and if I opened the door to my cabin, he would run,” he said. “He would not stop and look. He would instantly run.”
Although the shooting was deemed justified, it has drawn criticism from other mountain residents, especially online, with some disappointed with how the situation ended.
“I think if Fish and Game said that it’s justified, then it’s justified,” Arrowbear Lake resident Eric Real told KTLA. “I do love animals, so it does hurt to see a bear get shot over the situation.”