A Nome man mauled by a grizzly bear Sunday remained in critical condition Tuesday but was communicating with friends and family from his bed in a Seattle hospital.

"Considering that 48 hours ago he was being attacked by a bear and fighting for his life, to see where he's at now ... it's unbelievable, really," said Casey Perkins, the victim's son.

Wes Perkins, 54, had been tracking the bear with his hunting partners Sunday east of Nome when the big grizzly charged him. He was badly hurt, with severe injuries to his face and a large cut on his leg, relatives said.

Others in Perkins' hunting party shot and killed the bear.

Perkins underwent surgery and had been in a medically induced coma Monday morning, said Maryjane Sipes, a co-worker at the telecommunications company TelAlaska in Nome.

More recently, Perkins has been squeezing the hand of family members to communicate and at one point asked for something to write with, his son said.

While Perkins can't talk because of the injuries to his mouth and face, he is no longer breathing with the aid of a ventilator, Casey Perkins said. "He's actually been seeing his friends as they come in to see him."

Perkins is the former chief of the Nome Volunteer Fire Department.

He remained in critical but stable condition Tuesday morning at the Harborview Medical Center -- the same condition as the day before, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Read The Village, the ADN's blog about rural Alaska, at adn.com/thevillage. Twitter updates: twitter.com/adnvillage. Call Kyle Hopkins at 257-4334.