Brown Bear "ATTACK"........yes this is another ALASKA WEEKLY attack.

Sourdough

WKR
Joined
Oct 23, 2013
Messages
499
Location
In a cabin, on a mountain, in "Wilderness" Alaska.
Not to be confused with "ALL" the other bear attacks this spring.

Location: Cooper Landing
Type: Bear Attack

Dispatch Text:
On June 27, 2021, at approximately 1938 hours, Alaska Wildlife Troopers in Soldotna were notified of a bear attack in Cooper Landing. Wildlife Troopers responded to the scene. Based on a preliminary investigation, an adult male was hiking on the Kenai River Trail with a dog when we encountered a sow brown bear and two cubs. The adult male’s dog chased the bear which caused the sow to charge the hiker. The hiker reported that he was bitten on the arm by the bear and he then entered the Kenai River. The bear followed him into the river and bit him once more on the shoulder. The bear then retreated from the area, and the hiker returned to his vehicle where he contacted emergency services. EMS transported the hiker to a Kenai Peninsula area hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. The bear has not been located by law enforcement. The hiker did have bear spray but was unable to deploy it. The hiker’s dog, a 13-month-old border collie is still missing, if anyone encounters a loose border collie in the area please call Alaska Wildlife Troopers at (907) 262-4573. The Kenai River Trail near Skilak Lake has been closed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

 

GKWMontana

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Jul 19, 2020
Messages
100
Location
Montana
A lot of people in Montana take dogs hiking to hopefully make you aware before your standing on one. I guess a coin has two sides. Not sure which one is right..........maybe both in the right situation.
 
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
Messages
6,389
You seem to “know” a lot about brown bear and grizzly bears. Ever dealt with any?
While in Alberta I learned real quick what to be aware of...no sidearms allowed. My guide carried a 45-70 Govt lever gun in the mountains only. One day we were down low in crops near a swamp and walked up on steaming BB scat. My guide was freaked and said they don't come down to this elevation unless they are starving. We beat it outta there fast. You can carry spray and a sidearm but knowing how to read sign and keeping your head on a swivel to avoid an encounter is your best bet. Even those who do this can get surprised. I figure my death is predetermined so I don't worry. :) A bear fatality is far less scary to me than hospice. An archery BB hunt is on my bucket list.
 
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
4,009
Location
Alaska
While in Alberta I learned real quick what to be aware of...no sidearms allowed. My guide carried a 45-70 Govt lever gun in the mountains only. One day we were down low in crops near a swamp and walked up on steaming BB scat. My guide was freaked and said they don't come down to this elevation unless they are starving. We beat it outta there fast. You can carry spray and a sidearm but knowing how to read sign and keeping your head on a swivel to avoid an encounter is your best bet. Even those who do this can get surprised. I figure my death is predetermined so I don't worry. :) A bear fatality is far less scary to me than hospice. An archery BB hunt is on my bucket list.

Let me get this straight, you were scared of bear poop?
 
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
Messages
6,389
Let me get this straight, you were scared of bear poop?

No...my guide was stunned to find steaming BB scat next to the canola field we were skirting. He's lived and hunted and guided there for a very long time. He was surprised to see this and clearly concerned about our safety since the only weapon we had was my bow and a can of spray I carry. My point in mentioning it was to show how even seasoned woodsmen can find themselves suddenly and unexpectedly in a potentially harmful situation in a nanosecond. It's nature, you can do everything right and still end up like the hiker in the OP's post...just like you can respond to a post on rokslide and be unexpectedly targeted by a snide, childish arsehole who doesn't know you just because he has a keyboard, some free time and nothing constructive to contribute to the news story.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Jul 9, 2016
Messages
308
Location
AK
I was up the road a few weekends ago on a different trail and came across a grizzly doing it's thing. Not a single person I came across had bear spray or a gun, several people had young kids with them. People just get complacent it seems, dude got lucky with a few warning bites
 
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
Messages
6,389
Thanks Sourdough, what an amazing story. Dog people are the best! The guy had a serious TBI? And the old dog is his therapy? Holy buckets...what a grand reunion that was. God likes them. Wow.
 

300 win mag

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Dec 17, 2020
Messages
109
sorry to rain on the parade,cant fix stupid.lucky as hell to be alive,as far as bear spray goes,might help and might not.if in grizz or brown bear country i am armed and with adequate for mr cartridges.still happy for the guy and his dog.some people just are oblivious to certain situations.
 

AKBorn

WKR
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
651
Location
Tennessee
sorry to rain on the parade,cant fix stupid.lucky as hell to be alive,as far as bear spray goes,might help and might not.if in grizz or brown bear country i am armed and with adequate for mr cartridges.still happy for the guy and his dog.some people just are oblivious to certain situations.
Curious what you consider to be stupid about his story?
 

Bighorse

WKR
Joined
Mar 15, 2012
Messages
541
Location
SE Alaska
Freaking Bears! I’m one who has experience, just to be clear, I never want to be an expert at bear encounters. LoL I think that requires teeth marks and stitches.
I’ll wander into wild places again this year. My feeling about bears is semi complacent. Our interactions with those intelligent and territorial creatures can be mitigated with awareness. Yet I consider myself complacent because I simultaneously accept my vulnerability while stomping rough patches. A keen bear that really wants to interact with you will find a way to out flank you and intercept. You don’t stand a chance in their playground if they want to stay stealth. Good for you the majority of bears will attempt to size up their adversary visually before contact. Sometimes, when visual, you have a chance to prepare a defense. If the bear uses his/her nose and remains stealth you won’t have much opportunity at all. Using good trail awareness is indeed a good tool to indicate who your interacting with, that takes tracking experience and is a more advanced awareness tool. Anyhow…. That’s enough of our favorite online topic. Stay safe and bold ya scurvy dogs
 
Top