Woman mauled by brown bear at her home while letting her dogs out, officials say

KENAI, Alaska (KTUU/Gray News) - A woman in Alaska had to be helicoptered to an Anchorage hospital Thursday after being attacked by a brown bear on her front deck.

According to state troopers, the unidentified woman opened her front door just before 5 a.m. to let her dogs out when she discovered the bear and two cubs in her front yard.

The woman got a shotgun from inside the house after seeing one of her dogs run away from the door and fired about four rounds in an attempt to scare the bears away.

However, authorities say the bear ended up attacking the woman on her front deck, leaving her with “serious” injuries.

Another woman in the house was able to scare the animals away and helped get the woman who was mauled back inside the home.

The injured woman was medevacked to an area hospital for treatment.

While investigating, Alaska Wildlife troopers and Fish and Game officials said several bird feeders in the yard appeared to have been gotten into by the bears before the mauling.