FLIRTIN’ WITH DISASTER
Published in the June 13, 2026 issue.
A dog-bear confrontation turned into a dogs-humans-bear confrontation in Old Mammoth on Monday morning.
The 17-month old, 70-pound yearling cub did not live to tell the tale.
The incident took place at the home of Danica McCoy and Damon Conover just after 6 a.m.
According to Police Chief Dan Casabian, McCoy heard a scuffle outside, and saw her dog and the cub scrapping.
When she went out to attempt to break it up, another dog followed.
Then the bear turned his attention to her.
Conover was in the shower at the time. When he got out, he heard the melee and ran out buck naked to rescue McCoy.
*Hope she remembers that on Valentine’s Day!
At some point in what is now a family brawl, Conover managed to run back inside and grab a hatchet. He ultimately subdued the cub with the blunt end.
“I didn’t see details… I didn’t see the people interact with the bear at all,” a neighbor recounted. “All I really saw was that the bear was kind of chasing the dogs, and then the people were yelling, and then, at some point, I saw the man, like, lying on the ground,”
Leaving the bear staggered in the driveway, McCoy and Conover subsequently drove themselves to Mammoth Hospital where they were treated for their injuries.
Both required surgery.
When California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) arrived at the scene, the cub was tranquilized and then transported to Rancho Cordova for further study.
“Two hours later, there were all these trucks and fish and wildlife. So I went over to just see if everyone was okay. They were pretty much just like, we can’t say anything. [A CDFW official said] ‘Oh, we’re dealing with an injured bear,’” the neighbor remembered. “I was like, ‘Oh, that looks like a dead bear, but okay.'”
Ironically, it wasn’t the only bear call of the day – later, there was a report of a bear in an unoccupied home on Convict Drive.
While every bear incident revives calls to “Bring Back [former wildlife specialist] Steve Searles,” the Town appears to have ruled that out, opting instead to boost public outreach efforts via its Office of Outdoor Recreation.
Per Outdoor Recreation Manager Lawson Reif, this includes the hiring of host staff (Last year it was the 2 recreation technicians we hired for the USFS) which proactively interacts with visitors to attempt to educate them on bears in Lakes Basin Campgrounds.
“This work will begin this weekend as we just onboarded and trained the majority of our host team,” said Reif.
This is part of a laundry list of outreach efforts.
The Town is also partnering with Mammoth Disposal to monitor overfull dumpsters. Apparently, Mammoth Disposal trucks now all possess cameras which take photos and send alerts. Town Code Compliance then is dispatched to write citations.
Feel like I’m dragging a heavy load / Though I try to turn my head away / I’m flirtin’ with disaster every day
– Molly Hatchet
