State authorities are investigating the killing Wednesday of a black bear by a Kerr County man who says it menaced him.

J.A. Whittenburg V, 33, was walking near U.S. 83 in western Kerr County when the 103-pound juvenile bear approached at 7:20 a.m.

“It made a move and started towards him,” said J.A. Whittenburg IV of his son, an experienced hunter who carries a gun because of his work with exotic game on Las Catarinas Ranch, which is owns.

“It was very close,” he said.

After shooting the bear, they called game warden Kenny Lee, who reported that biologists surmised the bear had traveled from Mexico because of the drought.

“It's unbelievable how many varmints and critters are coming out of the woodwork” seeking food and water during the drought, Whittenburg V told the Associated Press.

“It's unusual but not unheard of for a bear to be found in the Hill Country,” Lee said, noting a bear was killed in Menard County around 2010.

He's investigating what transpired between the bear and the younger Whittenburg.

“You're only allowed to shoot them to protect your life or livestock,” Lee said. “A mere sighting doesn't constitute a threat.”

The American black bear is endangered in Mexico, and threatened and protected in Texas.

As originally published, this story contained an error.