14 DAY TRIAL // A camper in Alaska was mauled after throwing meat at a bear near Eklutna Lake Campground.
According to the Anchorage Daily News, the man was on a church picnic by the lake and he had been drinking.
Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen mentions that he was severely intoxicated when the incident took place.
“He wasn't terribly coherent,” describes Alaska Department of Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh.
“He was unsure of where the attack actually happened,” he adds.
The camper was attacked at around 5 p.m. on Saturday. He had separated himself from the church group to go for a bike ride.
He made it to an area near a station for campground fee collection and an ice cream stand when he ran across a black bear.
The man had brought along several pieces of barbecued meat. He threw one steak towards the bear and the animal ate it.
However, when he tried feeding it a second piece of meat, the animal became aggressive and launched itself at him.
“That’s when it kind of went ballistic,” Ipsen describes.
The bear bit his face and he was left bloodied, with puncture marks on his jaw. His back was scratched and troopers were called in.
The man did not suffer life-threatening injuries, but he was checked out at a hospital in Anchorage. Medical staff released him on the same day.
Fish and Game officials investigated the incident and concluded that the bear was provoked into attacking. The victim's name has not been given out, but he could be charged with feeding the wildlife.
“The bear was pretty much goaded into this,” Marsh informs, adding that throwing away garbage or birdseed in unauthorized areas could attract black bears. The attacker has not been located as of yet.