Military and wildlife officials continue to investigate this week’s fatal bear blow that killed one soldier and wounded another in a remote training area at the Elmendorf-Richardson Joint Base in Anchorage.
It is unclear what kind of bear attacked U.S. Army soldiers in Alaska on Tuesday afternoon, but Captain Derek DeGraaf of the Alaska Wildlife Squad said it was a pig with one or two cubs.
“There were three people in the area, two were near the lair. One of these people was injured, the other was killed, “DeGraaf said on Wednesday.
The second soldier’s injuries are not life-threatening, DeGraaf said.
Investigators have not yet released the name of the slain soldier. Their family has been notified, but according to military records, local officials waited at least 24 hours before announcing further details of the incident to the public, according to U.S. Army spokesman in Alaska John Penel.
More information is expected to be available Thursday morning, Penel said.
Although the general location of the attack is west of the Anchorage Regional Landfill, not far from the Eagle River, the large area includes rugged areas and is closed to recreational activities. Bears tend to emerge from their winter dens in the Chugach Mountains around the military base when the snow recedes into range.
It is not clear what kind of protection from bears, if any, the soldiers had on hand. With the exception of combat shooting exercises, base exercises are rarely conducted with combat ammunition in service weapons. At the time, the small group was preparing the area for ground navigation exercises, basic map and compass orientation training – considered a basic skill set for troops.
Investigations into the animal and decisions on whether it will be relocated or killed are being carried out by the Alaska Department of Wildlife for Fish and Game, which did not respond to phone calls Wednesday afternoon.
Numerous agencies responded to the incident on Tuesday afternoon. Three Alaska National Guard helicopters have been sent to the area of the attack for what Guards Communications Director Alan Brown described as an “emergency medical mission.” Rescuers from the 212th Rescue Squadron of the Alaska National Guard were part of the recovery and rescue operations.
Because the demolition took place on a military installation, the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division is the main investigative body, which is the standard protocol for investigating the sudden death of JBER.
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