If I were in the friend’s position I doubt I would have gotten a close enough look to differentiate. The autopsy said the victim had “multiple chop wounds” including to the skull so it was probably a machete or ax attack. With lots of long deep wounds and blood there wasn’t much chance he was alive when the friend found him so it’s plausible that the friend didn’t actually go into the campsite, just saw the blood and assumed it was a bear because what other animal could do that much damage.
Is it bad that I get most of my non-local news from foreign sources? I do look at the AP and NPR but I usually go to the BBC or Reuters first and I almost always check the CSM for international stories I want more information on.