A man and his dog walked away without injuries after encountering a black bear while walking near the Dredge Lakes area this morning.
A sow attacked the man who was walking his dog about 4:30 a.m., said Tom Schumacher, the regional management coordinator for the Division of Wildlife Conservation. The Division of Wildlife Conservation is a division of Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
The bear first encountered the man’s dog, and chased it down a narrow trail back toward him.
The man and his dog are lucky. At least two fatal black bear attacks have been recorded that were considered predatory: one near Anchorage, and another in the Interior.
The bear this morning had at least one cub and attacked defensively, rather than predatory in nature, Schumacher said.
“I don’t think any precautions beyond the normal precautions that people should take when hiking in bear country are needed,” Schumacher said.
To deter attention from his dog the man raised his arms and yelled at the bear, the wildlife conservation coordinator said. When the bear came toward him, the man sat on the ground and kicked at it. His dog continued to harass the bear from behind until the bear left.
At least four sows with cubs are in the Dredge Lakes and Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center area, which is more than normal, Schumacher said. In combination with salmon, and people on trails this can make for nervous bears.