A bear attacked an unidentified individual in Katmai National Park near the confluence of the Savonoski and Grosvenor Rivers at approximately 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, June 30. One visitor sustained injuries to his forearm before bear spray could be deployed to deter the bear. National Park Service Rangers provided emergency medical care to the visitor.
The visitor was part of a small guided group that included one guide and two visitors who stopped on an island to sightsee and eat in a remote part of the park. The guide and one of the visitors walked nearly 50 yards down river while the second visitor stayed at the boat to take photographs. While that happened, a bear swam across the river to the island where the boat was at. The visitor noticed the bear once it was next to the boat and notified the others in the group.
The bear was reportedly acting aggressively so all three attempted to haze the bear away by making themselves appear larger and yelling. Luckily, the bear’s attention was diverted away from the photographer, but the visitor with the guide was, unfortunately, swatted and knocked backwards into the river. The guide was able to use bear spray at that point and the bear disappeared.
Katmai National Park and Preserve reminds people to have heightened awareness when around bears, especially in backcountry areas where bears are not as used to people. A non-habituated bear is less comfortable with human intrusion in their space. More safety information on bear encounters in Katmai can be found here.
This is the first bear/human contact since 2018 when there were two minor bear incidents in which bears made contact with humans but no injuries were sustained.