ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A grizzly bear attacked a woman, wrapping its jaws around her head before a guest scared it away.
Abby Sisk, 21, of Utah was under going surgery today, said Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen.
A spokeswoman at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage said Sisk was listed in critical condition.
Sisk “suffered some pretty major lacerations to her face and head,” Ipsen said.
The attack happened late Wednesday as Sisk, a seasonal employee of the Kenai Princess Lodge in Cooper Landing, returned to the lodge after a hike.
She was about 25 yards from the lodge on a gravel path when the bear came out of the bushes and attacked her.
“It had her head in its jaws and it dragged her a few feet,” Ipsen said.
A guest at the lodge heard what he thought at first was laughter, and then he heard screaming. He looked a window and saw the bear on top of Sisk.
He ran outside, confronted the bear and managed to scare it away, Ipsen said.
“We’re surprised this happened because this was so close to the lodge,” Ipsen said.
A trooper was able to talk briefly to Sisk before she was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, but only was able to get her name and age. She was later transferred to the hospital in Anchorage.
Troopers returned to the lodge this morning to look for the bear, but Ipsen said it proved to be a difficult task.
“We have reports of 25 brown bear in the area,” she said. “It’d be hard to figure out which bear was responsible for this.
Sisk’s hometown was not immediately available.
Cooper Landing is about 50 miles southwest of Anchorage, on the Kenai Peninsula.
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