Bear scratches sleeping man’s leg after entering his camper, Alaska troopers say

A man sleeping in a camper at a beach in Alaska woke up Sunday to find a black bear inside, state troopers say.

The bear scratched the man’s leg and tried to bite it on Fourth of July Beach near Seward before the camper frightened it out of the camper, troopers said in a news release.

The bear, which had entered through an open door, wandered into the woods in the area on Resurrection Bay. But when state troopers later arrived to investigate the 9:16 a.m. encounter, they found the bear causing more trouble.

The bear had been “raiding camps, bluff charging campers, and showing no fear of people” before troopers arrived at 4:48 p.m., the release said.

They found the bear walking toward people on the beach and killed it as a public safety risk. The hide and skull will be turned over to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

This story was originally published July 6, 2021 at 12:44 PM with the headline "Bear scratches sleeping man’s leg after entering his camper, Alaska troopers say."