Bear encounter leaves woman with minor injuries in Monrovia

A woman walking her dog experienced a frightening encounter with a bear in the Monrovia foothills on Saturday morning, according to authorities.

The Monrovia Police Department said the woman was walking around 9:20 a.m. when a bear approached her. The bear swiped its claw toward her at one point, hitting the back of her knee.

The woman, who remains publicly unidentified, escaped successfully, and a nearby resident called the police. She was transported to a local hospital with injuries that aren't considered serious, police said.

"The dog was barking, the woman was screaming and the bear was facing them and not backing off," said one neighbor who witnessed the encounter. "It would charge the woman and then charge the dog and then the dog kind of ran off and the bear followed it a little."

Police say that the quick thinking of neighbors may have saved the woman's life. 

"They heard her screaming, my next-door neighbors came out with an airhorn," said one neighbor.

Monrovia PD contacted the Department of Fish and Wildlife. CBS LA reached out to the department, but has yet to hear back.

"Residents are reminded that bears are wild animals and may be encountered in the foothill neighborhoods," Monrovia PD said in a statement. "Anyone who encounters a bear should remain calm, avoid running, and slowly back away while giving the animal plenty of space."

Other neighbors living in the area told CBS LA that they have seen a bear in the area multiple times over the last few weeks. 

"The bear has been hanging around in this area for several weeks now," said another resident who lives in the area. "So, it's probably the same bear. ... It sits there in the shade, it's hot lately, so it kind of sits there and watches things go by."

About 22 miles away in Claremont, a bear also snuck into a home on Friday night. They say that it headed straight to the home's pantry and ransacked it for food, but no one was hurt.