9-year-old boy seriously injured in bear attack, troopers say

PALMER, Alaska (KTUU/Gray News) - Alaska State Troopers say two people were sent to the hospital earlier this week after a bear attacked them.

KTUU reports a bear attacked a man and a 9-year-old boy near Glenn Highway and Matanuska Townsite Road, about 37 miles from Anchorage, on Tuesday.

Troopers said the boy suffered serious injuries in the incident, and the man had minor injuries. Medical personnel transported both of them to an area hospital for treatment.

According to Alaska State Troopers, a witness said they saw a man carrying a child away from the road with head lacerations.

Troopers wrote in an email Wednesday that the boy is “in fair condition and currently receiving medical care.”

Department spokesperson Austin McDaniel said that the man and juvenile encountered a brown bear sow and her cub while they were hunting in the Palmer Hay Flats area. The man was armed. He shot and killed the bear in the attack.

Alaska Wildlife Trooper Scott Lanier said his department is continuing to investigate the situation.

Previously, residents reported several encounters with a bear that killed dozens of chickens and turkeys. A necropsy completed on the bear revealed “no evidence to suggest that this bear was involved in the raids on chicken coops,” according to Department of Fish and Game Regional Management Coordinator Todd Rinaldi.

Rinaldi said that despite searches, the cub has not been located.

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