State wildlife officials euthanized a bear that swiped at a Monrovia woman last Saturday morning, according to the city manager.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife captured the bear and her two cubs on Sunday. CDFW said that they would test the bear to determine if it was the same one that attacked the woman.
"I am sorry to share the unfortunate news," City Manager Dylan Feik wrote. "The Monrovia City Council requested and lobbied for the bear and her cubs to be relocated into the Angeles National Forest but the decision was never the City's to make. By the time we were able to speak with state officials involved in the decision-making, the decision to euthanize was already made."
CDFW's testing determined that the bear's DNA matched the recent attack and another attack in the same neighborhood last year, according to Feik.
The bear attacked an elderly man as he sat on his enclosed porch in the same neighborhood, according to Feik.
"The bear approached him and swiped at him also causing injury," Feik wrote. "A caretaker witnessed the incident and helped scare the bear away while the resident received treatment. That elderly resident also recovered from his injuries."
The euthanasia upset neighbors after more than 3,000 people signed a petition to save the bear. Feik said the two cubs are healthy and will be relocated to a facility before being moved into wildland areas.
The Monrovia Police Department said the woman suffered minor injuries after the bear swiped at her leg and scratched the back of her knee on Saturday. Officers expected she would be OK after being hospitalized last weekend.
Ashlie Howie-Storms, who ran a social media account documenting bear sightings in the neighborhood, said she had spoken with the woman minutes before she continued walking her dog and encountered the bear.
"We've been here 22 years, I think, and I don't recall a human-bear encounter that resulted in an injury," Howie-Storms said. "It really breaks our hearts, because that's not what happens here. We're all really cautious here."