Scary Alaska Travel: Bear Mauls Teenage Girl
Although Anchorage is a somewhat bustling city of 300,000 people, skyscrapers, great nightlife and one of the best bars in America (Chilkoot Charlie's), it still remains on the edge of some truly wild territory filled with animals much larger, tootheir and hungrier than humans.
This fact was sadly reiterated on Saturday night when a teenage girl riding in an all-night bike race was mauled by a bear who was foraging near the course in Far North Bicentennial Park. The young girl was outfitted with bear bells and two lights so as not to scare any wildlife, but a state biologist says that gusty winds on the night of the race and the rush of the creek might have made it difficult for the bear to hear her approach. That, he said, might've spooked the animal and caused the attack.
Two weekends prior, a bear charged at a pair of runners in the same area--though that's not stopping Alaskans from getting out to enjoy nature. Says one local:
It's not going to stop me from going out of the house and enjoying the short summer. But I'm thinking we should buy some bear spray.
Related Stories:
· Terror on the Trail: Bear Attacks Teen [Anchorage DN]
· Bears coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: kradlum]
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