Anchorage resident injured in Yakutat bear attack

brown bear on shoreline in Katmai area
A brown bear in the Katmai area of the Alaska Peninsula, Nov. 18, 2010. (Public Domain photo by Mandy Lindeberg/NOAA)

An Anchorage man was mauled by a brown bear near Yakutat over the weekend.

Kenneth Steck, 29, was medevaced to Providence Medical Center in Anchorage on Friday after suffering extensive bite wounds.

According to Yakutat police, Steck went camping in Disenchantment Bay on Thursday, near Callahonda Creek, with his wife and several friends. The group was armed, and planning to hunt for black bear if they saw any.

On Friday, Steck left camp on his own to get water from the creek when he was attacked by a large brown bear. According to police, the attack may have lasted up to two minutes before others from Steck’s party arrived to drive off the animal.

Steck reportedly suffered severe wounds to his lower leg, scalp and shoulder. He received first aid from three registered nurses in the party, including his wife Hannah. Their call to the Coast Guard was overheard by the Yakutat Police Department. Officer Jeff Lee reported to the Yakutat Clinic to collect additional medical supplies. Lee and clinic staffer Mark Schultz traveled aboard the Yakutat harbor master boat and met the campers in Johnstone Passage and began administering advanced medical care.

Steck was stabilized at the Yakutat clinic and medevaced to Providence in Anchorage. Hospital officials confirmed that he has since been released.

Officer Lee said the attack appears to have been unprovoked. The bear is presumed to be a boar, rather than a female with cubs. The Alaska Department of Fish & Game has been doing DNA studies in the area. The department will attempt to collect DNA samples from the victim’s clothing, but Lee said the biologists he’s spoken with think it’s unlikely that they’ll be able to identify the bear responsible for the attack.

This is the second mauling in Southeast so far this spring. On April 18, a UAS outdoor instructor, Forest Wagner, was seriously mauled in Haines while teaching a class. He was hospitalized for about 3 weeks.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Steck was armed at the time of the attack. He was unarmed. 

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