Officials stated Wednesday that a man from Michigan had “severe puncture wounds” to his arms during a bear mauling in Alaska, but was able to stop the attack by using pepper spray on the grizzly.
After the late Tuesday afternoon attack, Nicholas Kuperus, 33, was able to call Alaska State Troopers using a satellite communications device. Troopers state in an online statement that they were able to convey him to an ambulance waiting in the Glennallen community.
Troopers reported that Kuperus and his partner hunters surprised a female grizzly bear with three cubs while hunting in the upper East Fork of the Indian River.
In an attack 60 miles north of Glennallen, the sow mauled Kuperus, but troopers say he was able to stop and prevent the attack with pepper spray, also known as bear spray.
State aircraft transported troopers to the scene of the incident. The PA-18 Super Cub was able to land on a neighboring ridge top, and he was taken to an ambulance in Glennallen, which is located around 180 miles northeast of Anchorage.
Michigan’s hometown of Kuperus was not instantly accessible.
In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in southeastern Alaska, another hunter was assaulted by a grizzly bear protecting her cubs last year. In the same park in 2020, a hunter was killed by a grizzly bear.
A U.S. Army soldier died earlier this year from injuries incurred during a bear attack in an Alaska military training area.
Officials have cautioned that female bears with cubs are naturally more aggressive, and they advise sportsmen to be vigilant when camping, hiking, or hunting.
Bill Whitaker of “60 Minutes” observed that both the grizzly bear and human populations have increased dramatically since 1975, when the bears were given protection under the Endangered Species Act.