2 Soldiers Were Attacked by a Bear in Alaska. Bear Spray ‘May Have Saved Their Lives’

Two troopers had been injured in a bear assault throughout a coaching train close to Anchorage on Thursday. Particulars stay restricted as a result of the incident stays below investigation, however preliminary experiences point out it was a defensive assault by a bear that had lately emerged from a den. 

The assault occurred on the Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the place troopers within the eleventh Airborne Division (also called the Arctic Angels) had been collaborating in a land navigation coaching occasion. At the very least one of many two troopers was apparently capable of name for assist, nonetheless, and each had been outfitted with and deployed bear spray.

“Having bear spray with them within the area might have saved their lives,” Cyndi Wardlow, ADFG’s regional supervisor for Southcentral Alaska, mentioned in a Friday press release. The bear’s location remained unknown following the assault.

Each “people sustained accidents and are presently receiving applicable medical care,” the eleventh Airborne mentioned in a Friday assertion, which referred to the incident as an “encounter.” The eleventh Airborne didn’t launch the troopers’ names or particulars about their situations, citing privateness till subsequent of kin was notified.

As of Monday, the troopers’ identities have nonetheless not been made public nor has there been an replace on their accidents. When requested instantly in the event that they had been anticipated to dwell, spokeswomen from each JBER and the Alaska Division of Fish and Recreation declined to remark. JBER cited its “ongoing investigation” as the explanation; ADFG mentioned it might solely touch upon the incident because it pertains to wildlife.

“We’ve collected samples to attempt to get a constructive identification on species and gender” of the bear, Wardlow advised OL Monday. “It was initially reported as a brown bear however there have been no different eye witnesses who noticed the bear aside from the victims, so we’ll be ready on genetic samples for affirmation.”

The outcomes from these DNA samples can take a number of weeks. Within the meantime, extra bears are expected to leave their dens.

“That is fairly early within the 12 months for what we’d count on — bears are simply beginning to emerge from their dens,” Wardlow says. “It’s dependent yearly on how a lot snow we’ve had, climate situations, after which it’s going to rely upon the a part of the state the place persons are. In Southcentral Alaska, which is the place [JBER] is, spring is simply beginning to come into full impact so we’re beginning to see bears come out of their dens.”

On common, Wardlow expects bears to emerge later in April and into Might. In some components of the state the place there’s meals accessible 12 months spherical, she notes, some bears don’t den in any respect.

“So it’s at all times advisable to be ready for a bear encounter even when you don’t assume that it’s the time of 12 months while you’d often see a bear.”

The assault occurred in a distant space of JBER on the west aspect of Glenn Freeway. The incident occurred on a restricted a part of the bottom, confirms Wardlow, not in an space that’s brazenly accessible to most people.

“We hope the 2 individuals who had been injured have a fast and full restoration. Our ideas are positively with them and their households,” says Wardlow. “We hope everybody going into this summer time takes a minute to consider the right way to be protected once they’re outdoors recreating and spending time in Alaska. Our largest concern with conditions like this and why we examine is to attempt to study no matter we are able to to assist different folks keep safer sooner or later.”

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Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson spans about 85,000 acres close to Anchorage. Bear encounters include the territory. In 2024, Task & Purpose reports, bears broke right into a stash of MREs. Per week later, one was found consuming one other MRE inside a Humvee. In 2022, two soldiers were injured in a coaching incident after a sow emerged from her den; 30-year-old Employees Sgt. Seth Michael Plant didn’t survive.