According to Alaska State Troopers, a hunter is recovering after being attacked by a brown bear and accidentally shot amid chaos as officers tried to stop the attack.
The 32-year-old man was part of a hunting party that was attacked by the bear on the Resurrection Pass Trail near Cooper Landing in the early afternoon of August 17, an official press release said.
Not only was he “seriously injured” by the bear, but he also accidentally suffered a gunshot wound as officers attempted to rescue the hunting duo.
After receiving first aid in the wilderness, he was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Anchorage for treatment.
His friend was “transported by a rescue team from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center.”
The press release also states that the two hunters killed the bear during the attack, but their names are not mentioned.
According to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, despite the widespread belief that brown bears pose a huge threat to humans, in reality they rarely attack a human on sight. However, they will strike if they feel threatened – especially if it is a mother with her cubs.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports that brown bears are found throughout Alaska and can weigh up to 1,500 pounds (680 kg).
Brown bears, whose global population numbers about 200,000 animals, were classified as a “least concern” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2016. However, some populations, particularly in the Himalayas, are threatened by deforestation, poaching, hunting and mining, which destroy their natural habitat.
