Hunter mauled by grizzly bear in Alaska

A hunter was injured Wednesday after he was mauled by a grizzly bear in Alaska’s Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, officials said.

Jason Long, 39, of Eagle River, Alaska, was alone near the Chisana River when a mother and her two cubs attacked him, according to the National Park Service. The hunter called for help using a distress signal, prompting the Air National Guard and the park service to coordinate a rescue mission.

Authorities found Long with lacerations and puncture wounds. He was taken to multiple facilities for treatment, the park service said. It was unclear how severe his injuries were, but authorities said he was stable.

Because mother bears are often protective of their young, officials said there were no plans to relocate the bear and that there was no indication that the bear was “unusually dangerous.”

The park service warned campers, hunters and hikers to follow bear safety protocols in the wilderness.

Wednesday’s attack was the latest this year.

In August, a tourist from Indiana was injured by a grizzly bear at Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. The victim used bear spray that might have cut the attack short, the park service indicated.

In July, a woman was killed by a grizzly bear while camping in the small community of Ovando, Montana, about 45 miles east of Missoula.

That same month, an injured man was rescued Friday after reportedly fending off a bear for a week at a remote mining camp in Alaska.

And in April, a Montana backcountry guide died days after being mauled by a large grizzly near West Yellowstone, which is just outside the national park of the same name.

Grizzly bears are federally protected as a threatened species in the lower 48 states after the animals were widely exterminated by trappers and hunters early last century.