KENAI, ALASKA – A 36-year-old woman suffered serious injuries after a brown bear attacked and dragged her approximately 100 yards during an early morning jog near her home in this southern Alaska city.
The attack occurred around 5:45 a.m. Tuesday when the woman stepped out of her house for a run in Kenai, a coastal community located southwest of Anchorage. She had traveled less than 50 yards from her front door when the bear emerged from a neighboring property without warning.
Alaska Wildlife Trooper David Lorring said the animal immediately charged the jogger, dragging her roughly 100 yards down the road and onto another property before fleeing the scene. The woman was discovered by a neighbor who contacted emergency services.
Kenai Police Department received the emergency call at 6:58 a.m., more than an hour after the initial attack. Officers quickly transported the victim to an Anchorage-area hospital where she received treatment for her injuries. Her current medical condition has not been disclosed by authorities.
Following the incident, state troopers, local police officers, and Alaska Department of Fish and Game personnel conducted extensive ground searches for the bear. A drone was deployed to scan the area from above, but the animal wasn’t located despite the multi-agency effort.
Evidence collected at the attack site, including paw prints and tracks, confirmed the animal was a brown bear. Wildlife officials continue patrolling the neighborhood while warning residents to exercise extreme caution when outdoors.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has advised local residents to closely supervise children and pets, secure garbage containers, and remove pet food from outdoor areas. Officials stressed that while Alaska is known bear country, unprovoked attacks on humans remain relatively uncommon.
Alaska’s vast wilderness supports approximately 100,000 black bears and 30,000 brown bears, along with nearly 1,000 polar bears in the state’s northern regions. Despite this substantial bear population, state health records show only 10 fatal attacks and 68 bear-related hospitalizations occurred between 2000 and 2017.
Brown bears, also called grizzly bears, can weigh up to 800 pounds and run at speeds exceeding 30 miles per hour. They’re typically most active during dawn and dusk hours when food sources are abundant.
This marks one of the more serious bear encounters reported in the Kenai Peninsula region this year. Wildlife experts remind outdoor enthusiasts to make noise while hiking or jogging, travel in groups when possible, and carry bear deterrent spray in areas known for bear activity.
The investigation into the attack continues as officials work to locate the bear and assess whether it poses an ongoing threat to the community.
