Mountain Town News – Special posting

Pet bear eats woman

DENVER, Colo. — A southwest Colorado woman who considered the numerous black bears that frequented her land to be her pets was killed by one of them outside her Ouray County cabin.
According to a Los Angeles Times report, on Friday, Aug. 7, Donna Munson, 74, was eaten by one such black bear, which apparently slashed her head through a fence around her porch and dragged her body underneath it. An autopsy indicated she was most likely unconscious when the bear pulled her into the yard.
Munson had been known to feed the animals dog food and other scraps, and was said to have referred to them as “my pets, my babies.” She also did the same for a variety of other wildlife, including skunks and elk.
Deaths from bear attacks in the state have been few, with only two others recorded since officials began keeping track in the 1960s. If Munson’s death was the worst consequence that can result when people get too familiar with wild animals, her actions were extreme, according to Colorado Division of Wildlife spokesman Tyler Baskfield.
The next morning, a 400-pound bear was shot and killed as it nosed around Munson’s property. An autopsy of the animal revealed it to be the one that ate Munson. Her shirt was found amidst human flesh in its stomach.
Editor’s Note: Normally, The Sheet typically doesn’t post MTN stories on the blog site, but this particular story was brought to our attention via concerned locals at the Hayden Cabin and is posted here (as well as in the print edition) for its timely relevance.