WARNING: Graphic image of a severely injured animal below.

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A 59-year-old Salyer resident was hospitalized on Sunday after an encounter with a “severely” injured black bear at Berry Summit on Route 299. 

The man, who has not been publicly identified, struck the 400-pound male bear with his vehicle just before 11 a.m. on Sunday, according to California Highway Patrol (CHP) incident logs. He quickly got out of his vehicle to help the injured animal over the nearby guardrail and was bitten several times.

“After striking the bear and seeing that it was severely injured, the motorist felt bad about it, stopped his vehicle, and got out to see if he could help the bear,” Peter Tira, a public information officer with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), told the Outpost. “Mortally wounded, the bear was struggling to climb over a guardrail on the highway and get back to wild habitat on the other side apparently. The motorist tried to assist by helping the bear over the guard rail and was bitten in the process.”

The bear died shortly thereafter, Tira said.

CHP Sgt. Caleb Carsey told SFGATE‘s Amanda Bartlett that the Humboldt Area CHP office was “flooded with 911 calls” after the incident. Several witnesses looked on as the 59-year-old man approached the bear and was bitten “multiple times in his left forearm,” Carsey told SFGATE. An off-duty EMT who witnessed the incident responded immediately and applied a tourniquet to the injured man’s arm before calling Trinity Life Support ambulance. 

The man was taken to a local hospital to be treated for his injuries, though his current condition is unknown. The CHP has not yet responded to the Outpost’s request for additional information.

Tira took the opportunity to remind drivers to watch out for animals while traveling the roads this summer and to take extra precautions when driving around dawn and dusk when wildlife is more active.

“Late spring and summer are always a very busy time for bear activity across California [because] it is mating [season] for black bears,” he continued. “If there’s a lesson here, it’s never to handle or approach a wild animal, particularly a wounded wild animal as they feel threatened, obviously, and in fear for their life, and are dangerous and unpredictable in that state.”

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