JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - An Alaska man is unharmed after a bear climbed on top of him, wildlife officials said.
The bear approached the man and his Rottweiler as they were walking near Dredge Lake in Juneau on Friday, said Tom Schumacher with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. The dog had been walking about 50 feet (15.24 meters) ahead of his owner when he returned to the owner being chased by the bear, Schumacher said.
The man led the bear away from his dog by waving his arms around and yelling, then sat down on the trail to avoid being knocked down when the animal approached him. The bear got top of the man, Schumacher said but it did not bite or scratch him. The man fought back by kicking the bear while the dog was barking and biting its back end.
Both escaped unharmed.
Officials believe the bear was defending its cub.
“Unlike the situations up north, where black bears made predatory attacks on people, this appears to be a defensive situation where the bear thought the dog was threatening its cub, and the bear encountered the man who it also assumed was a threat,” Schumacher said. “Still, we don’t like it when bears behave this way toward people.”
Schumacher believes there are at least four sows with cubs near Dredge Lakes and the Mendenhall Visitors Center, which he said is more than usual. Bears had an above-average reproduction rate after mild winters, according to Fish & Games’ June press release.
The U.S. Forest Service and Alaska Department of Fish & Game were unsuccessful in their search for the bear that threatened the man and his dog.
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