Bear which mauled woman to death ‘attracted by Independence Day picnic smells’

A grizzly bear which mauled a woman to death was attracted by the smells from Independence Day picnics.

The rare predatory attack in Montana, USA, came about because the bear had become "food-conditioned", according to experts.

Leah Davis Lokan, 65, was camping on along the banks of the Blackfoot River on July 6 when she first encountered the bear, and was able to scare it away.

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However, an hour later, at around 4am, the bear returned to the site, made famous by the film A River Runs Through It, and killed her.

Ms Lokan, from California, had been camping in the small town of Ovando which borders a huge expanse of forested land that is home to an estimated 1,000 grizzlies.

Experts believe the bear was attracted to food in and near her tent, as well as smells from recent Independence Day picnics.

After the first encounter, she had taken some packaged snack foods and dry lentils out of her tent and retrieved a can of bear spray, the investigation found.

However, her toiletries remained in the tent contained in two bags that had previously held dried blueberries and still smelled like the fruit, investigators said.

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A Texas couple camping nearby were awakened just after 4am to noises that indicated Ms Lokan was being attacked.

The man yelled at the bear and deployed his pepper spray after seeing the animal "pouncing up and down" on her and her tent.

The 417lb (189kg) male grizzly bear broke her neck and severed her spine, an autopsy found, causing instant death.

A nearly empty can of bear spray that appeared to have been recently deployed was found under her tent, officials said.

The bear that mauled Ms Lokan was shot three days later while raiding a chicken coop near Ovando.

A report on the incident said it wasn't know why the predatory response was triggered in the bear, as not all food-conditioned bears react like this.

It said: "While foraging under the cover of darkness in Ovando, perhaps due to a simple movement made by the sleeping victim, or a certain sound made by the victim, the bear reacted and ended up taking the life of Ms Lokan."

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