Boy (9) mauled by bear

ALASKA – A nine-year-old boy was seriously mauled by a brown mother-bear during a moose-hunting trip in Alaska and was only rescued by a wounded relative, Alaska State Troopers said.

The pair were hunting in Palmer Hay Flats Game Refuge, 23 miles north east of Anchorage on Tuesday afternoon, September 20, when they came across a brown bear with its cub.

The adult bear immediately attacked and mauled the young boy, who was saved by his 41-year-old relative blasting the creature to death.

Troopers and medics were called to the area at 6:37pm, where they found the boy seriously injured.

The man only had minor injuries, and both were taken to a Mat-Su area hospital.

The man and boy were family members but troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel did not give their names of relationship.

The boy’s condition was fair by the following day after receiving medical care, McDaniel added.

Searched

Officials searched for the bear cub by ground and helicopter on Wednesday, thought to be an adolescent, but could not find it, according to Todd Rinaldi, a regional management coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The cub, thought to be unharmed in the incident, will be euthanised if it is found, he said.

Bear cubs weeks or months old cannot yet fend for themselves yet do not do well in captivity, he added.

Wildlife officials returned to the area on Wednesday to investigate the incident and interview the people wounded in the attack. Alaskan officials had been searching for a brown bear that has been raiding chicken coops near Butte and Palmer in recent weeks. There have been no reports of raids since yesterday, raising the possibility that this bear was the culprit.

But a necropsy of the beast carried out on Wednesday led officials to believe that they had the wrong bear.