The remains of a hunter who authorities believe was fatally mauled by a bear were recovered Wednesday from a remote region in Southeast Alaska where such attacks are rare.
On Tuesday evening, the man, Tad Fujioka, 50, was reported overdue from a deer hunting trip in the Sitka area of Alaska, which is near Juneau, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement Wednesday.
Teams from the Alaska Wildlife Troopers, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Sitka Fire Department’s search-and-rescue division conducted land-based searches in the remote wooded area Wednesday and found Fujioka’s remains about 11 a.m., the Department of Public Safety said.
“Investigation revealed he was the likely victim of a fatal bear mauling,” the agency said in a statement, noting that Fujioka’s family had been notified. Tim DeSpain, a department spokesperson, said that a Coast Guard helicopter had found three brown bears in the area of the deer kill.
Bear attacks on humans are rare in Alaska, which is home to three types of bears — black, brown and polar — according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
“It is not uncommon for residents or visitors to Alaska to see bears, usually from a safe distance,” the department said. “But even if you don’t see a bear, you will never be far from one; Alaska is bear country.”
In January 2023, a polar bear killed a woman and her 1-year-old son in a remote village in western Alaska after it chased “multiple residents,’’ officials said at the time.
That attack took place near a school in Wales, a remote village on the western edge of the Seward Peninsula.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game provides a list of tips for how people can stay safe around bears while hunting in the state.
Tips include staying calm during a bear encounter and having a deterrent ready, like a bear spray.
“Stand your ground, group up with others and alert the bear by talking calmly,” the department said, adding, “Don’t run.”
• This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
