While bears in the town of Mammoth are regular residents, elsewhere in the Eastern Sierra the animals usually remain scarce. Earlier this summer, bears were spotted in Bishop and Big Pine. While those encounters were brief and benign, residents of 40 acres (near Rovana) now report that a bear has killed two goats.
Early Saturday morning, 40 acres residents Kent and Dianne Frates awoke to a loud noise in their yard. When they investigated, they saw bear pin their well loved goat named Violet, to the ground. The Frates yelled and screamed at the bear, and Kent Started throwing rocks, before the bear took the goat out of the yard.
When the Sheriffs department arrived, they used a spot light to spot the bear eating the goat. Dianne Frates explained that their goat Violet was the second goat killed that evening. With further investigation it appears that the bear had killed a neighboring goat then hopped the fence to kill the goat at the Frates Home.
In her years living in 40 acres, she says that they have never had problems with bears before.
That was Saturday. Dianne Frates says that the bear came back Sunday night and got into some trash. She says that she is currently keeping her remaining goats and pot belly pig in the garage.
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