Today In The Natural World: "He was about 85 percent consumed."

Leftovers/road kill:

(Reuters) - A man who suffered a heart attack and died outside his rural Northern California home had his corpse dragged away and eaten by a black bear that was sheltering nearby, medical officials said on Friday.

The 65-year-old man, identified as Marion Williams, had walked from his trailer in Humboldt County to a water source about 100 yards (meters) away on Oct. 8 when he suffered cardiac arrest, said Humboldt County Deputy Coroner Roy Horton.

A bear that was bedding just feet (meters) from the water source apparently saw or smelled the body and dragged Williams away, he said.

"The bear saw the opportunity for a food source and took advantage of it," Horton said, adding that the bear stripped Williams out of his clothes and necklace, feeding on him for several days.

"The bear did eat most of this guy," he said. "He was about 85 percent consumed."

Friends became concerned about Horton on Oct. 11 and called the sheriff's department. They also visited his property and could smell the decaying body, Horton said.

Horton stressed that the bear was acting naturally after finding the man's lifeless body, and said black bears are normally timid and non-aggressive.

Wildlife officials in California report there has [sic] been no known fatal maulings by black bears.

(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere in Seattle; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Sandra Maler)

Euphemism notes: "Sheltering"? "Bedding"? Is the bear "sheltering in place"? Does it have a lean-to in which to "shelter"? If those are exact words, is the Deputy (temporarily) Humboldt County Coroner afraid to state clearly that bears sleep in the woods? If not, what the heck, reporter & two editors? (Two editors? What the heck?)