A brown bear mauled a hunter Saturday night east of Sterling, injuring the man before he shot and killed the animal, Alaska State Troopers said.
Sterling resident Nicholas Abraham, 34, was hunting for rabbits north of the Sterling Highway at Mile 73.5 a little after 8 p.m. Saturday when he came across a brown bear sow with cubs, troopers said in an online report.
“Abraham became aware of the sow when he was about 15 feet from her,” troopers spokesman Justin Freeman said. “She was on him immediately after he became aware of her.”
Abraham shot the sow with a .44 handgun, according to troopers’ report.
He was able to drive himself to the hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries, Freeman said.
Alaska Wildlife Troopers investigated the site of the bear mauling Sunday, Freeman said, and they did not see any cubs on site.