Haines Junction man has narrow scrape with a bear

A Haines Junction man managed to get away from an aggressive black bear with just two minor wounds to his leg last week.

A Haines Junction man managed to get away from an aggressive black bear with just two minor wounds to his leg last week.

Kris Gustafson, the manager of enforcement and compliance for Environment Yukon, said today the man noticed the bear near his property outside the community at around 8:30 a.m. last Thursday.

The bear was not deterred by rocks the man threw, nor his four dogs. As the man moved closer to his house to try to get inside, he was scratched by the bear, Gustafson said.

It wasn’t until claim posts were thrown that the bear was hit. Rocks were again thrown to deter the bear as the man moved inside his house, Gustafson said.

The bear finally left the property.

The man was treated at the Haines Junction nursing station for scratches to his upper leg. Though a trap was set to catch the animal, it was removed about a day later when the bear didn’t return.

Gustafson said there was nothing outside the home of the man, whose named was not released, to attract the animal.

“We can’t explain the (bear’s) behaviour,” he said, noting there hasn’t been any other unusual bear activity in the area.