Troopers: Bear mauls guides after group got close to cub

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A brown bear mauled two wilderness guides who were leading a hiking excursion in Alaska after the group came between the female animal and her cub in the Tongass National Forest, state troopers said Friday.

The guides — a man and a woman — were rescued by the Coast Guard after being injured Thursday on a trail on Chichagof Island about 30 miles north of Sitka. Troopers said the bears left the area after one of the victims used pepper spray.

Authorities said they have no plans to hunt down the bear, and the guides’ employer said their injuries were not life-threatening, though one of the two was airlifted to Seattle and undergoing treatment in intensive care.

Forest Service law enforcement officers and state wildlife troopers have determined the attack was a defensive, non-predatory move and the bear will not be pursued, said Sitka District Ranger Perry Edwards.

Bears are common in the area near a stream filled with salmon this time of the year, he said.

The names of the guides were not immediately made public.

Officials said they are crew members of the 74-passenger cruise vessel Wilderness Explorer and were leading 22 people on the hike in southeast Alaska.

The injured woman was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she was listed Friday in serious condition in intensive care, according to hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg.

Both guides were initially transported by helicopter to Sitka for emergency medical treatment for multiple injuries and severe lacerations, the Coast Guard said.

The man reportedly was treated at a Sitka hospital and released.