Alaska News

Photos: Young bears hold South Anchorage resident, dog 'hostage'

Imagine Caryn Rea's surprise when a pair of young brown bears showed up at her South Anchorage home uninvited Monday, holding her and her dog, Radar, "hostage."

Rea was enjoying her morning when the two juveniles sauntered into her yard and started investigating her property.

"They were just curious; we don't have any garbage or anything for them to get into, so they were just kinda hanging around ... and around," Rea said, much to her dog's chagrin.

The bears moved from the lawn to the deck and eventually the back door, where they found an agitated Radar.

"(They) kept circling the house and showing interest in 'playing' with Radar," Rea wrote in an email. "They were not aggressive ... I think they wanted to play with (her) more than do anything to her," she said.

The bears took their time with their investigation holding Radar and Rea "hostage for about 20 minutes."

They prowled around ever so respectfully, investigated the lawn furniture, the hot tub and the dog, stopping at the back door to make the occasional bear face and breathe on the glass.

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"I felt like I was held hostage cause I couldn't leave," Rea laughed, "'cause the bears wouldn't leave."

In the end the youngsters lost interest and moved on, but not before Rea was able to capture these novel photos of the incident.

Contact Katie Medred at katie(at)alaskadispatch.com

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