Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Bear Attack in South Anchorage

Picture at link does not show the actual area of the attack. This is a spot I fish a lot and just a few minutes from my door. Have never seen evidence of bears there or close...

http://www.adn.com/alaska-news/wild...attack-initially-reported-as-a-stabbing/

Bear shot and killed in area of reported Wednesday-night mauling in Anchorage
Author: Chris Klint Updated: 3 hours ago Published 3 hours ago

Campbell Lake and the Campbell Creek estuary in southwest Anchorage are seen in this file photo from July 2002. (Marc Lester / ADN)

Update: A black bear has been killed near Campbell Creek Estuary Park, where a man was apparently mauled Wednesday night.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists shot the bear Thursday while investigating the mauling, after it reportedly approached a resident of the area.

Fish and Game spokesperson Ken Marsh said the bear was killed with a single shot from a 12-gauge shotgun about 150 yards southeast of the trailhead, the same area where the suspected mauling occurred.

Marsh said the bear appeared to be "fearless" as it approached the resident, who backed into his house to get away from it.

It remained unclear if the bear was the same one that might have been involved in the Wednesday incident. Marsh said biologists would collect DNA from the animal and compare it with material gathered from the clothing of the man who was attacked.

Original Story: A man critically injured Wednesday night near Campbell Creek Estuary Park in Anchorage may have been mauled by a bear, Anchorage police believe.

An initial call reporting a possible stabbing near Edinburgh and Selkirk drives came in shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday, Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Castro said in a statement Thursday. The man, who had "multiple wounds and was bleeding" when he emerged from woods in the area, according to the caller, was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

"The caller stated the male was barely responsive and looked like he may have been cut with a knife," Castro wrote. "After further investigating and working with medical staff at the hospital, it was determined that the male was likely attacked by a bear."

Castro said police haven't yet been able to speak with the man, who remained in critical condition Thursday morning. Evidence from the scene, as well as an examination of his wounds by medics, led police to believe a bear might be involved.

"When we searched the area, there was indication in the woods that he might have been dragged by something," Castro said. "(The man's injuries) were more consistent with an animal attack than a knife wound or stabbing."

Ken Marsh, a spokesman with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said two biologists with the department were at the scene and investigating the incident Thursday.

"They haven't determined for sure there was an attack by wildlife, or what kind of wildlife it might have been," Marsh said. "At this point, they haven't determined just what happened."

The Campbell Creek Estuary Natural Area has several trails cutting through it, including overlooks of Campbell Creek and the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge, according to the municipal Department of Parks and Recreation. A small parking area is accessible from Selkirk Drive.

The park — a 60-acre area near the mouth of the creek, west of Campbell Lake — was formed as the result of a deal with the Great Land Trust.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Unrelated:

Heard of a trail closure on the arm.

Believe no attack, but a moose carcass was discovered.

A couple years ago a young GI armed with a semi-auto Russian military POS stumbled into a brown bear on a moose carcass and kilt it...

Had a grizzly run through the yard a few nights ago. And speaking of the trail closed due to the bear on a moose kill I was hiking that trail with my daughter and her friend the day after the kill was discovered. But we through hiked from Rabbit Lake so didn't realize of the trail closure until coming across the back side of the bearacade. Woulda sucked to have made an 11 mile return trip

A buddy killed a young griz last night that had killed a few of his sheep the night before. It made the mistake of returning the following night. Took it into FG to turn it in, they were going to seal it for him before he hinted that the season was closed and it was more of a dlp item.

Don't seal it; just take it from me.

Sis sent me that and read it earlier. What are the odds this little sow was not the culprit?

Not that the decision was wrong.

This guy seems to be in really bad shape.

Odds are quite high; they are now saying it was a moose that caused the injuries...

Interesting! Moose are responsible for more injuries in AK than bears...

From AKWolverine's link

Wildlife

That alleged bear mauling in South Anchorage? Fish and Game now says it was most likely a moose attack
Author: Tegan Hanlon Updated: 6 minutes ago Published 4 hours ago
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said Friday that a man who medical staff once suspected was mauled by a bear in South Anchorage Wednesday night was actually attacked by a moose — they think.

The man, who has not been identified, remained in critical condition Friday, police said. Neither police nor wildlife biologists have been able to speak with the man. Without a witness, they were left trying to solve the mystery of what happened to him based on his wounds and evidence left in a wooded, bloody stretch of land next to a long, unpaved, private drive.

Over two days, the suspected cause of the man's injuries evolved from a knife attack to a bear mauling to a moose stomping. On Thursday morning, while a bear mauling was the current theory, Fish and Game biologists killed a black bear in the area, describing it as a public safety concern.

The episode started with a 911 call Wednesday and a report of a possible stabbing.

The 911 caller was driving on the gravel road running through Campbell Creek Estuary Natural Area, the city's newest park, to a home on five acres at the park's eastern edge. The driver called a 911 dispatcher shortly after 9 p.m. and said that an injured man was lying on the ground with multiple wounds. The victim was "bleeding heavily," said Jennifer Castro, Anchorage Police Department spokeswoman. The driver told the dispatcher the man was unresponsive and may have been cut with a knife, Castro said.

"At that point in time, we do a search and an investigation," Casto said. "We find various pools of blood throughout the woods. Take photos." It appeared the man had crawled or rolled to the drive where police found a large pool of blood, she said. The private drive is off Selkirk Drive, a short street lined by homes that ends at the estuary park.

[Black bear killed in South Anchorage near where man was badly hurt in suspected mauling]

An ambulance brought the man to the hospital, where medical staff said his injuries likely came from a bear — not a knife. The man had injuries to his chest, throat and head, Castro said. On Thursday, she said the man had injuries primarily to the front of his body and did not appear to have any of the defensive wounds that might indicate a man protecting himself against a knife-wielder. She said police found markings in the dirt that "looked like he had been dragged by something large."

On Thursday morning, Fish and Game biologists went to South Anchorage to investigate the possible bear mauling. The drive where the man was found winds through thick brush and trees, partly within the Campbell Creek Estuary Natural Area. The park borders the Anchorage Coastal Wildlife Refuge where it's not uncommon to see bears and moose.

The drive is marked by "No Trespassing" signs. A gate blocks passage at the north edge of the park near the estuary trailhead.

Castro said the drive is roughly a quarter-mile long. A path off a Campbell Creek estuary trail leads toward the middle of it. Ken Marsh, a spokesman in Anchorage for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the pools of blood were found in the woods across the drive. He said biologists did not know what the man was doing in the wooded area. Neither do the police, Castro said.

Marsh said a group of biologists had driven partly down the private drive Thursday and were investigating the scene when a man in the home at the end of the road told them he saw a black bear around 10:00 a.m. The man said the bear appeared fearless and he backed into the house to get away from it.

Less than 30 minutes later, biologists spotted a black bear about 100 yards from where the injured man was found the night before, off the private drive. The bear stood on its hind legs and put its paws against a tree, Dave Battle, a Fish and Game biologist, said Thursday.

The bear was killed with a single shot from a 12-gauge shotgun. Both Marsh and Battle said Thursday that they were not sure the bear was connected to the man's injuries. But because of the reports that a man was hospitalized over a suspected bear mauling and the bear appearing to be unafraid, the animal was a public safety concern, Marsh said. They had no choice but to put it down, he said.

But by Friday afternoon, biologists had reviewed the injured man's wounds and determined that they were consistent with a moose attack, not a bear mauling. Marsh declined to say Friday why the wounds appeared to be caused by a moose.

"I don't know where the mistakes were made other than it's quite possible, if not likely, that medical staff has not encountered a lot of wildlife injuries," Marsh said Friday.

Marsh said biologists also saw moose tracks near where the man was found. Biologists spoke with police who said they had spotted a yearling moose Wednesday evening near where the injured man was found and took photographs of it. Officers said the moose appeared agitated, according to a statement from Fish and Game on Friday.

"Biologists returned to their investigation at the attack scene where observations of tracks and hair suggested the injuries were likely caused by a moose," the Fish and Game statement said. "No evidence indicating the presence of a bear was found at the scene."

Marsh said Friday the biologists acted properly in shooting the bear. In addition to the circumstances of location and the belief that the victim's injuries were caused by a bear, the bear they encountered was "showing no fear," Marsh said.

"It's unfortunate any time that we have to kill wildlife in a situation like this. It's not anything our biologists like to do. It's not why they took the job," Marsh said. "It's an unfortunate set of coincidences."

Marsh said he saw a moose with two calves in the area Thursday, but not the yearling spotted the night of the suspected attack. He said biologists would likely not look for the yearling unless they received additional reports of encounters.

Wednesday's suspected moose attack comes less than two weeks after a moose stomped on two women repeatedly in an area of Kincaid Park. One woman went to the hospital with a punctured lung and broken wrist. The other woman suffered a cracked rib and a deep cut on her buttocks.

Marsh warned that if a moose flattens its ears and starts to approach, the best defense is to run and put something like a tree between you and the animal.

"When those hooves start flying, they can be deadly," he said.

Also unrelated: Bears have killed 3 of our chickens in 2 separate "incidents". Crappy cell phone pics.

I know a way to bring them chickens back.

Barring the primary method of defense, get an electric fence.

Call for details.

That sow there is NOT a little birdseed eater ...