Panhandle Hunter Survived A Bear Attack

Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS
Photo by Lisa Hupp/USFWS

Sorry for just getting this in now, but I was on vacation and out of the office all of last week. The Alaska Dispatch reported that a hunter survived a bear attack two weekends ago in Southeast Alaska.

Here’s the paper with more:

A deer hunter from Hoonah was injured in a brown bear attack on Chichagof Island in Southeast Alaska Saturday, and was saved when his hunting partner shot and killed the attacking bear, Alaska State Troopers reported.

Anthony Lindoff, 36, of Juneau and Josh Dybdahl, 30, of Hoonah, were approaching a brushy spot in an area of muskeg near Neka Bay on Chichagof Island, preparing to call for deer when the bear attacked around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, troopers said in an online dispatch. 

“They heard a ‘whoof’ and then a brown bear emerged from the brush charging at them,” troopers wrote.

The bear pinned Dybdahl on the ground; Lindoff grabbed his rifle and shot the bear, killing it, the dispatch said.

The bear, a sow, had two cubs with her, according to the dispatch.

“Investigation revealed that the attack likely occurred as a result of the bear being startled,” troopers said.

Lindoff and Dybdahl called the U.S. Coast Guard, which picked them up in a helicopter and took the men to Bartlett Regional Hospital in Juneau.