A woman was attacked by a brown bear while hiking with a friend and three dogs near a state park in Alaska on Saturday.
The woman sustained non-life-threatening injuries and is expected to recover, according to authorities.
The attack occurred late afternoon near the Bear Valley residential neighborhood, adjacent to Chugach State Park in south Anchorage.
Officials said the hikers were on an unofficial, user-made trail that climbs a steep hillside in a zigzag pattern, which was heavily overgrown with dense vegetation.
The dense vegetation created poor visibility and increased the risk of surprising wildlife, according to authorities.
The bear came out of the dense alders, made brief contact with one of the hikers, and left the scene.
One of the victim's dogs was off leash during the encounter and became separated from the group, but was later reunited with its owner.
Bears are known to cache and defend food sources this time of year and at least one moose had recently been killed nearby.
High winds and inclement weather conditions at the time of the encounter may have increased the chance that the bear was surprised by the hikers and their dogs, even if they were making noise.
There are many private and public trails throughout Anchorage and the surrounding area that are overgrown at this time of year with tall grass and leafed out shrubs, which can greatly increase the chances of surprise encounters with wildlife.
First responders from multiple agencies, including the Anchorage Fire Department, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, and Alaska State Troopers, responded to the scene.
Police officers reportedly hiked up the trail to locate the injured adult, while firefighters carried the injured woman down the trail before transporting her to a hospital.
During the rescue, police officers deployed a drone and located a brown bear nearby, which they continued to monitor throughout the rescue, allowing first responders to safely treat and evacuate the injured hiker.
