The Latest: No plans to hunt down bear after Alaska mauling


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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Latest on two cruise ship wilderness guides mauled by a bear in Alaska (all times local):

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3 p.m.

Authorities in Alaska say they have no plans to hunt down a bear that mauled two wilderness guides who were leading cruise ship passengers on a hiking excursion in the Tongass National Forest.

Alaska State Troopers say the attack occurred after the group from the cruise vessel Wilderness Explorer came between the female animal and its cub on Thursday on a trail about 30 miles north of Sitka.

Sitka District Ranger Perry Edwards says Forest Service law enforcement officers and state wildlife troopers have determined the attack was a defensive, non-predatory move. He says bears are common in the area, which is near a salmon stream.

The names of the guides — a man and a woman — have not been released.

The female guide was transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she is listed in serious condition in intensive care.

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10:50 a.m.

Alaska State Troopers say a brown bear that mauled two wilderness guides who were leading cruise ship passengers on a hiking excursion went on the attack after the group came between the female animal and her cub.

The guides injured Thursday are crew members of the 74-passenger cruise vessel Wilderness Explorer who were leading 22 people on a hike about 30 miles north of Sitka in southeast Alaska.

Spokeswoman Sarah Scoltock with vessel operator Un-Cruise Adventures says no one else was injured and she doesn't know if anyone witnessed the mauling on the Sitkoh Creek Trail.

The names of the guides have not been released.

Scoltock says the guides — a man and a woman — were transported to Sitka for treatment. The injured woman was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle for further treatment.

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8:20 a.m.

A man and a woman mauled by a bear in Alaska were airlifted by a Coast Guard helicopter to receive medical treatment.

The Coast Guard says the two are wilderness guides who were leading a group of cruise ship passengers on a hike about 30 miles north of Sitka.

The cruise vessel Wilderness Explorer on Thursday afternoon notified the Coast Guard that two of its passengers had been mauled.

The Coast Guard launched a helicopter from Sitka.

The crew hoisted the man and woman into the chopper and transported them to emergency medical personnel in Sitka with what the Coast Guard said were "multiple injuries and severe lacerations."

Winds of 23 mph were reported at the time.

Their conditions were not immediately known.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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