Bear Attacks Inside Anchorage Have People on Edge

Bear Attacks Inside Anchorage Have People on Edge

Saturday, August 16, 2008 7:38 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By MARY PEMBERTON Associated Press Writer

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Even in a city whose logo is "Big Wild Life," the summer of 2008 is testing residents' tolerance for large carnivores.

The problem is bears, black bears and bigger grizzlies. So far this summer, three people have been mauled in the city.

Some people say humans are to blame for the confrontations and insist that no bears should be killed because of the attacks.

On the other side is a growing chorus of people like Devon Rees, who want something done about the big bruins.

"It is pretty much unsafe to walk around at night," he said.

On one recent evening, Rees heard splashing in the creek near his Eagle River home and assumed it was salmon. Seconds later, however, a bear rushed at him from the woods and knocked him to the ground.

"I wasn't going to lay down and take it. The bear came and tried to fight me," said Rees, 18, who works in a meat store. "I started punching it in the head, kicking it and elbowing it ... I was boxing him using one arm to defend, one arm to strike."

Residents share the municipality — covering more than 1 million acres and with more than 360,000 people — with more than 300 black bears and 50 to 60 grizzlies. Aggravating the problem is that Alaska's largest city is snug up against the half-million-acre Chugach State Park, the third largest state park in the United States.

Full story here...