(Getty Images)
A wild black bear mauled a man at an Alaskan campground Saturday after he fed it a piece of meat from a church barbecue, reports The Anchorage Daily News.
The man was reportedly drinking and decided to go for a bike ride near Eklutna Lake Campground north of Anchorage, Alaska. He came across a bear and threw it a piece of meat. According to Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen, the bear “went ballistic” after feeding it a second piece. Park rangers found the bloodied man, who is being treated for puncture wounds and scratches at an Anchorage hospital, washing himself off at the campground.
“He wasn’t terribly coherent,” Department of Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh said. “He was unsure of where the attack actually happened.”
Authorities could not locate the bear after the attack, but they say that there is no indication that the bear will harm anyone else.
“The bear was pretty much goaded into this,” Marsh said.
The man, whose name has not been released, may be charged with illegally feeding wildlife.