Black Bear Kills Arizona Man in ‘Highly Uncommon’ Attack

An Arizona man having a morning coffee was fatally attacked on Friday by a male black bear that caught him unaware and dragged him down an embankment before a neighbor shot and killed it, officials said.

A preliminary investigation by the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office determined that Steven Jackson, 66, of Tucson, had been sitting at a table on his property in the Groom Creek area south of Prescott where he was building a home, the office said in a statement.

The bear attacked Mr. Jackson and dragged him about 75 feet down an embankment, according to officials.

“Neighbors who heard the victim screaming tried to intervene through shouts and car horns, but the bear did not let go of Mr. Jackson until one neighbor was able to retrieve his rifle and shoot the bear to get him to disengage,” the statement said.

Mr. Jackson was dead when officials arrived.

The sheriff’s office and officials with the Arizona Game and Fish Department said the attack was “highly uncommon” but “appeared to be predatory in nature,” adding that there did not appear to be anything at the site that would have precipitated a bear attack, such as food or access to water.

The site of the attack was not near recreation sites for camping.

The sheriff’s office said it would investigate the death, and the Game and Fish Department said it would examine the bear carcass and test it for disease.

Todd Geiler, a member of the State Game and Fish Commission, said in a statement that the attack was “an especially aggressive, unprovoked attack that reminds us that wildlife can be unpredictable.”

Bear attacks remain exceedingly rare, and fatal attacks even rarer still.

According to the department, there have been 15 bear attacks on people in Arizona since 1990, two of which were fatal, including the one on Friday. The last fatal attack happened in 2011.

Spencer Peter, a biologist with the North American Bear Center in Ely, Minn., said black bears are generally “really timid and shy,” but “you have outliers.”

“Some bears are born more aggressive and bold, and attacks on humans are really rare, but it does happen,” he said, adding that bear attacks on humans tend to occur in remote areas where bears are not accustomed to people.

Ninety percent of a bear’s diet is vegetation, Mr. Peter said, and the majority of the remaining 10 percent is insects. But from time to time, they do seek meat.

“Depending on where you are in the United States and what’s available, usually what a bear goes after is whatever is easiest,” he said. The attack on Mr. Jackson “could have been food-motivated, but it’s tough to say for sure.”

Mr. Peter recommended that people who live or hike in bear country keep bear spray or pepper spray on hand at all times.