The mauling in Neka Bay over the weekend is the fifth bear attack in the “ABC Islands” (Admiralty-Baranof-Chichagof) since August 7. (KCAW image)
A helicopter from Air Station Sitka medevacked a Hoonah man to Juneau on Saturday afternoon (10-1-16), after he was mauled by a brown bear.
Alaska wildlife troopers report that Josh Dybdahl, age 30 of Hoonah, was hunting with a partner near Neka Bay on Chichagof Island just southwest of Hoonah, when they heard a “woof” and a sow bear charged them from the brush.
The bear pinned Dybdahl, but his partner, 36-year old Anthony Lindoff of Juneau, was able to retrieve his rifle and kill the animal.
Lt. Greg Isbell with the Coast Guard says Dybdahl was seriously injured in the attack.
“He had described that he had multiple puncture wounds, and the bear had grabbed his leg, and bit into his thigh.”
Isbell says the sow had two large cubs who appeared to be about two-years old. Even after the sow was killed, the situation remained tense.
“The hunters had to continue to shoot warning shots at the other two bears to keep them away because they kept trying to close in while they waited (for) transportation.”
The Coast Guard transported the hunters to Juneau. Dybdahl was met by EMS personnel who took him to Bartlett Regional Hospital. His injuries are reported to be non life-threatening.
The incident was the fifth brown bear attack of its kind since August in the so-called “ABC Islands,” which comprise Game Management Unit 4. On September 22, a Kentucky man was wounded in Chaik Bay on Admiralty Island. A few days before that, an all-terrain vehicle tour guide used pepper spray to deter an attack on Kruzof Island near Sitka. On August 27, a pair of Forest Service fisheries techs shot and killed a charging bear on Appleton Creek on Baranof Island. On August 18, a wilderness guide with UnCruises was seriously mauled leading a tour on Sitkoh Creek on Chichagof Island. And on August 7, former Sitka Search & Rescue captain Don Kluting used a handgun to shoot and kill a charging bear in Nakwasina Bay.
