A brown bear attacked a man biking the Dome Trail in Anchorage Saturday afternoon, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
The victim was riding his bike down the trail when he encountered a bear walking toward him, said Anchorage area biologist Cory Stantorf.
“He was able to stop before he got right to the bear, and he yelled at the bear, made himself look big, and then the bear charged. He was able to get his bike in front of them. The bear hit the bike once, knocked it down, then knocked the victim down,” Stantorf said.
The bear scratched and bit the man above the waist, he said. His injuries are serious, Stantorf said, but not life-threatening. The attack occurred within a mile of the Stuckagain Heights trailhead for the Dome.
Stantorf said the victim self-rescued to the trailhead and received care at an Anchorage area hospital. The victim had bear spray but wasn’t able to deploy it, he said. He said the man did not have a dog, which can sometimes prompt attacks.
Stantorf said the bear was likely startled by the man, sending the animal into fight or flight mode.
“A lot of times we see brown bears go into that fight mode,” he said. “They see a perceived threat, they neutralize it, and then they get out of the area, which is exactly what this specific bear did.”
He said the department will not try to find the bear because the animal was exhibiting normal bear behavior.
The Dome Trail is more than 7 miles out and back and takes up to six hours to complete on foot, according to AllTrails, an outdoor recreation website.
This is the second aggressive bear encounter on the Dome Trail in less than a year. A brown bear mauled and seriously injured a woman hiking there last July. There are several salmon streams near the trail, which Stantorf said are bear magnets.
“Any wildlife encounter in general is a super unfortunate event, and it is a risk that we take as we recreate in the backcountry,” Stantorf said.
If you encounter an aggressive animal, contact Alaska wildlife troopers, or your local Fish and Game office. You can find best practices for bear safety from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game here.
