By JEANNETTE J. LEE, Associated Press Writer
ANCHORAGE (AP) - Two people camping along the Hulahula River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were killed by a grizzly bear, officials said Sunday.
Officials discovered the bodies and an unused firearm in a tent at a campsite near the river.
The couple, whose names were not released, was believed to be in their late 50s or early 60s, North Slope Borough police said. They were from Anchorage and had been on a recreational rafting trip down the river, Alaska State Troopers said.
The victims were in their tent when the attack occurred, according to Tim DeSpain, spokesperson for Alaska State Troopers.
The campsite was clean, with food stored in bear-proof containers.
"The initial scene indicates that it was a predatory act by the bear," DeSpain said.
The bear was at the site Saturday night when public safety officials arrived. They shot and killed the animal, but did not remove it.
A rafter had seen the animal at the site and notified authorities in Kaktovik.
The couple's injuries were consistent with a bear attack and there were no signs of foul play, said Kelly Alzaharna, a lieutenant with the North Slope Borough Police Department.
There were no other people at the campsite, which was about 12 miles up river from Kaktovik, a community of about 300 on Barter Island and the only village in the refuge.
Officials are not sure when the couple was killed.
The bear's height and weight are unknown because wildlife officials has not yet retrieved its remains, Alzaharna said. The refuge contains grizzly, polar and black bears.
Cathy Harms, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Fish and Game in Fairbanks, confirmed the bear was a grizzly.
Fish and Game officials were alerted at 4 a.m. Sunday, Harms said.
Wildlife officials were taking the bear carcass to Fairbanks on Sunday for a necropsy, which would confirm whether the bear attacked the couple, Harms said.
Alaska State Troopers are retrieving the bodies from the campsite.
Authorities said they would release the victims' names after contacting family members.
The Hulahula River begins at the end of a glacier in the Romanzof Mountains at the eastern end of the Brooks Range.
It flows west and north about 100 miles to Camden Bay in the Beaufort Sea east of Barter Island.
The river is popular for wildlife viewing, rafting and kayaking.
