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meanwhile, just around the corner in seward....


The Seward Phoenix LOG - Bear attacks boy walking to bus stop



A 12-year-old Seward boy was attacked by a brown bear while walking to school this morning.

According to Alaska State Wildlife Enforcement Trooper Marc Cloward, the boy was walking to the bus stop early Tuesday morning.

Although it was dark, when he heard a noise, he wasn't too concerned.

"He's thinking that the sound he's hearing is rain and snow falling off the trees," Cloward said.

It wasn't, though.

"He looks over and sees a sow and cubs and he's already too close," Cloward said.

The boy began to back away, but the sow growled and huffed and rushed, knocking him to the ground.

The boy screamed and wiggled, until he remembered what he had been told to do in case of a bear attack.

So he made himself go limp. He played dead as the bear ripped and bit at the backback he wore across his back.

According to Cloward's estimates, the backpack absorbed the brunt of the attack.

The boy was taken to Providence Seward Medical Center, where he was examined and released to the care of his parents, according to Alaska State Troopers.

"I was impressed by how mature he was," Cloward said. "He said to me during the interview, 'I think she was just as scared as I was. She just wanted to get her cubs and get out of there.'"

The attack happened on Bear Lake Road near the fish weir.

"It's kind of a bear thoroughfare there," Cloward said. "They're passing through, feeding and making a living."

Cloward tracked the bear about a half mile toward the mountains. He's unsure if it will return to the area.

If it does, it will have to be dispatched, according to Soldotna Fish & Game biologist Jeff Selinger.

"If a bear makes contact and we can identify it as the bear, it's time to put that bear down," he said.

Alaska Fish and Game Soldotna wildlife technician Larry Lewis was a little more forceful.

"The bear stepped over the line," he said. "It's a public safety issue now. People come first."

If the bear is dispatched, the cubs will be also, since placement could not be found.