A black bear entered a camper near Seward through an open door Sunday, scratched a sleeping man and tried to bite him before raiding nearby camps and charging people, Alaska State Troopers said.
The bear was eventually killed because it was a public safety risk, troopers wrote in an online report.
Troopers were called to Fourth of July Beach in the Spring Creek area at 9:16 a.m. Sunday, the statement said. A man reported that a black bear entered his camper while he was sleeping with the door open, troopers said. The bear scratched his leg and tried to bite it, troopers said.
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“The victim then scared the bear out of the camper, and it ultimately wandered back into the woods,” troopers wrote.
The man had minor injuries but declined medical treatment, troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said.
It was not immediately clear what drew the bear to the camper, McDaniel said. Officials estimate it was a 4- or 5-year-old male black bear, he said.
Wildlife troopers were called back to the area just before 5 p.m. on reports of a black bear raiding camps and bluff-charging campers, the statement said. Arriving troopers saw the bear walking toward people on the beach.
Troopers determined the bear was a public safety risk because of the earlier attack and its continued behavior and decided to kill it, the statement said.
No problems had been reported with bears in the area during days leading up to the attack, McDaniel said.
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