Bear That Attacked Camper Euthanized

The bear that attacked a camper near Altadena on Friday was euthanized, state officials said.

The Millard Campground in the Angeles National Forest was closed while authorities searched for the bear. It was the first such attack this year in the state. 

The incident occurred Friday before 10 p.m., state wildlife officials said. Officials have recorded 99 bear attacks in the state, all nonfatal, going back to 1986, according to data from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The most attacks in a year happened in 2010 when 11 attacks were recorded, none of those occurred in the the five county Los Angeles metropolitan region.

The weekend attack came when a small bear pushed in a tent in a campground, sheriff's officials said.

"The tent came down on a male adult, and the bear appeared to be attempting to open the tent," authorities said.

The man was apparently looking at his iPad when the tent fell.

"Two other campers saw an approximately 120-pound bear running away from the area," sheriff's officials said.

The man was treated at a hospital, where about 18 sutures were needed to close a wound on his forehead.

Department of Fish and Wildlife staff captured the 2-year-old female bear less than a mile from the campground on Saturday.

The bear was tranquilized and held until tests of genetic material from the damaged tent and scat from the campsite confirmed it was the animal that attacked the camper, Fish and Wildlife officials said.

City News Service contributed to this report.