‘I’m Glad I Blacked Out’: Moose Hunter Miraculously Escapes Brown Bear Attack Near Soldotna

Gavin Haakenson walked away with only a claw scratch on his left shoulder and a shredded coat sleeve after a brown bear charged him while he was moose hunting on Sept. 2 near the Killey River, outside Soldotna, Alaska. Haakenson says he blacked out during the brief attack and later learned the bear stood over him before running off.

The Encounter

Haakenson and friend Ethan Yeager had been scouting after work, hunting a bull Haakenson has watched for two years. After hiking less than two miles they left the trail to cut through heavy brush toward swampy ponds. At dusk, while returning by a different route through trees, Haakenson heard a noise and saw a brown bear charging at about 10 feet.

He recalls trying to shoulder his rifle as the animal leapt. 'Then I don't remember what happened. That's when my black out started,' he said. The bear struck his shoulder and knocked him onto his back; Yeager fired a pistol but could not clearly see Haakenson because the bear was blocking his view.

Gavin Haakenson's dented riflescope. Photo courtesy of Ethan Yeager.

Aftermath and Medical Check

The confrontation lasted under 10 seconds. After two shots the bear rose and ran; Yeager continued firing as it retreated and may have hit it in the rump. The men shouted and hurried back to Yeager's truck, then called for help.

Medics evaluated Haakenson at the scene. X-rays showed no broken bones. The bear's claw ripped Haakenson's coat sleeve but did not break the skin, so no stitches were needed. He is bruised and sore and faces roughly six weeks of physical therapy for his shoulder. Other damage included a dented riflescope, scratches to a gunstock, and a mostly shredded left sleeve on his puffy coat, which the brand KUIU plans to replace.

Investigation and Safety Warning

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service officers from the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge inspected the site and found newly dug pits and scraps of the hunter's coat but no blood or hair. Based on the size of the digs and the hunters' descriptions, officers suspect the animal was a boar.

A brown bear dig. Dustin Martin, USFWS Kenai National Wildlife Refuge federal wildlife officer

'He will be back if you guys didn't kill him. If he was hit, it wasn't bad. If you go back, be extra careful because that bear is going to be extra territorial,' Dustin Martin, a federal wildlife officer with USFWS Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, texted the hunters.

The refuge team returned the next day and found old caribou bones and additional dig sites but no visible signs that the bear was struck.

Context

The Killey River is a salmon-rich Kenai River tributary; active salmon runs at this time of year concentrate bears. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game manages brown bears as a game species on the Kenai Peninsula, which covers roughly 25,000 square miles and includes the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge where the encounter took place. The peninsula's most recent formal brown bear estimate—582 animals—comes from a 2010 study.

What Haakenson Plans

Haakenson, who holds tags for brown bear, black bear, and moose, hesitated when asked whether he would return this season. 'When you live in Alaska, you have to take the wild into account for everything you do just like you do the weather,' he said. 'I'd like to go out and find this brown bear and shoot it, but how much do I want to make my mother worry? And, how angry will this brown bear be when it sees me?'

Key facts: the encounter happened Sept. 2 near the Killey River; Haakenson blacked out during the attack but sustained only minor physical injuries; USFWS warns a bear that has been encountered or lightly wounded can become more territorial.