If you’re a reporter doing a story for which the chyron reads “woman injured in bear attack,” one of the last things you’ll want to see is a bear. Perhaps even more so if you’re a woman. However, that’s exactly what happened to KTLA/Los Angeles reporter Erin Myers as she was reporting the story in Monrovia, CA. And not only did she live to tell the tale, but she also continued reporting as the attacker ambled around in the background.
The bear was a serial attacker, not to be confused with Sugar Bear, who was a cereal attacker. (ktlathecw/youtube.com)
The story starts off as so many do – a story about affordable housing. It’s tough out there for everyone; in fact, some would call it a bear market. It’s not easy to find a place to live, especially if you hibernate, on top of not having any credit. So a bear took up residence underneath a Monrovia home, where it proceeded to annoy the actual homeowner and his dog. And while it just bothered them, it had actually swiped at a woman in the neighborhood, or the neighbearhood as the bear called it.
Reporting on the story from outside the house, Myers at first seemed oblivious to the bear, although the camera caught it right away. It next approached a trap and either realized that it was a trap or saw the camera and decided it was their time in the spotlight. The broadcast quickly cut back to the studio, where you could hear the panicked shouting of people realizing their co-worker had a pretty high probability of getting mauled.
Myers, for her part, kept her calm, even as the bear wandered out from where the trap was and into the street. The two seemed to have a mutual respect for each other, with the bear acting naturally and walking along the street away from her, and Myers smelling an Emmy and coolly mentioning that this was the second time a bear had interrupted a broadcast. She then mentioned that fish and wildlife were there as well. With no fish or wildlife besides the bear visible, it became obvious she meant the Los Angeles Fish and Wildlife Department, whose job it was to trap the bear.
The story has a happy ending if you’re the homeowner and much less of one if you’re a fan of bears, be it of the Chicago variety, fans of the TV show, or the actual animals. The Chicago Bears had a promising season, making it to the second round of the playoffs, but lost in the divisional round this season to the Rams. The next season of The Bear will be its last. And the animal caught on live TV this past week was captured and euthanized, putting an end to its promising TV career, but also an end to mauling people. DNA taken from the bear showed that it was involved in another attack on a woman in the neighborhood last year as well. The bear had two cubs, which were also captured but will eventually be released into the wild. They’ll then eventually find their way back to Monrovia to maul more people to avenge the death of their mom.
This story is based on fully factual news, but if we got it wrong, blame these guys, we’re just here to make it funny.
