United States: A United States Army soldier at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson was attacked by a bear in Anchorage, Alaska. Later, he succumbed to the injuries he sustained.
As per the reports which have been shared by the base, the soldier was attacked inside the training area in the west of the Anchorage Regional Landfill.
The identity of the soldier is not yet released until his family members will not get the information related to his death, the base shared in the statement.
Moreover, the soldier was a member of a small group that was training at a site known as Training Area 412.
Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) stated that “The 673rd Security Forces Squadron initially responded to the incident. Alaska Wildlife Troopers are currently searching for the bear in TA 412, which is closed to the public for all recreation activity.”
Along with this, the investigators are working on the case, and they are making sure that they are going to get more information related to this incident.
The species of the bear that attacked the soldiers is not yet identified.
In 2015, there was an article posted by JBER, and the base mentioned that bears in the area become “considerably more active” during the time of summer months.
In addition, they added that both black and brown bears live nearby the base.
The attacks by the bears are rare, and the United States National Park Service has guidelines for what to do depending on the species.
In North America, there are around 55,000 brown bears. On the other hand, Western Canada has about 25,000 bears.
However, in the overall United States, there are 30,000 bears, all black and brown colour. The majority of the brown bear in the USA live in Alaska, with a small population of more than 1,500 in the lower 48 states of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, as well as Washington.
