ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska authorities say there are no plans to hunt down a grizzly that mauled four teenagers hiking in the wilderness over the weekend.
State Department of Fish and Game biologist Tim Peltier says the decision was made given the remoteness of the location and the likelihood that the bear was a mother protecting a cub.
The injured teens were among a group of seven outdoor survival students who encountered the bear Saturday night as they lined up single-file to cross a river in the Talkeetna Mountains north of Anchorage. They were rescued early Sunday.
One of the injured teens, 17-year-old Sam Gottsegen of Denver, says no one ever saw a cub.
The teens were participating in a 30-day backcountry course conducted by the National Outdoor Leadership School.
