KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Jay Barrett/KMXT
A Kodiak man is reportedly okay after getting bit by a brown bear on Tuesday afternoon. As several sources relate the story, the man was walking a dog near Swampy Acres, when they chanced upon a young sow with two cubs about 20 feet away.
The man told Fish and Game’s Larry Van Daele that the bear turned to leave, but the unleashed dog decided to approach the cubs. When the man called the dog back, the momma bear followed.
Van Daele praised the man for immediately dropping to the ground and playing dead when the bear approached, and likely prevented it from becoming a disasterous situation.
Van Daele agrees that stumbling upon a sow with cubs is pretty much a worst-case scenario.
He says the sow and the cubs will likely find a place to hibernate soon. Despite the cold and snow, Van Daele says bears are individuals and for some reason this family hasn’t denned up yet. Some males, he adds, stay active all winter on Kodiak Island.
Beware of bear activity signs have been posted in the area of Tuesday’s attack, but Van Daele says the bears have likely moved on from there.
KMXT is still trying to contact the mauling victim, and will have his name and more details when we do. A friend of his says that despite the bite marks on his foot, the man isn’t even limping.
