9-year-old mauled by bear, family member shoots it dead

9-year-old boy seriously injured in bear attack while hunting in Alaska; bear shot dead by family member – CBS News

In Alaska, police reported that a brown bear mauled a 9-year-old child before a family member shot the bear to death.

Alaska State Troopers say the child suffered “serious injuries” and the adult member was left with minor wounds after the attack on Tuesday in Palmer Hay Flats.

In the course of hunting, the couple came across the dangerous animal, which leaped at the kid before the adult shot and killed it.

The police did not describe how the two were connected, but they were both treated at a nearby hospital.

On Wednesday, troopers and staff from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game returned to the scene to investigate the bear’s death and perform a necropsy.

Officials are trying to determine what prompted the brown bear to attack the child, says Todd Rinaldi, Alaska Department of Fish and Game regional management coordinator.

Rinaldi said the researchers are determining whether there was a cub in the area, if there was a carcass, and evaluating the conditions behind the attack.

The Alaskan paper reports that officials have been looking for a brown bear that raids chicken coops for the last few weeks, but sightings have decreased.

Two weeks earlier, a hunter visiting from Michigan was mauled by a mama grizzly near Glennallen, about 200 miles from the scene of the 9-year-old’s attack. In spite of spraying the bear with bear spray, the man went home with serious puncture wounds.

For more coverage on this story, check the following additional news sources: