ANCHORAGE, Alaska 鈥� An Alaska woman had the scare of a lifetime when using an outhouse in the backcountry and she was attacked by a bear, from below.
鈥淚 got out there and sat down on the toilet and immediately something bit my butt right as I sat down,鈥� Shannon Stevens told The Associated Press on Thursday. 鈥淚 jumped up and I screamed when it happened.鈥�
Stevens, her brother Erik and his girlfriend had taken snowmobiles into the wilderness Feb. 13 to stay at his yurt, located about 20 miles northwest of Haines, in southeast Alaska.
Her brother heard the screaming and went out to the outhouse, about 150 feet (45.72
Erik had brought his headlamp with him to see what it was.
鈥淚 opened the toilet seat and there鈥檚 just a bear face just right there at the level of the toilet seat, just looking right back up through the hole, right at me,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 just shut the lid as fast as I could. I said, 鈥楾here鈥檚 a bear down there, we got to get out of here now,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淎nd we ran back to the yurt as fast as we could.鈥�
Once safely inside, they treated Shannon with a first aid kit. They determined it wasn鈥檛 that serious, but they would head to Haines if it worsened.
鈥淚t was bleeding, but it wasn鈥檛 super bad,鈥� Shannon said.
The next morning, they found bear tracks all over the property, but the bear had left the area. 鈥淵ou could see them across the snow, coming up to the side of the outhouse,鈥� she said.
They figure the bear got inside the outhouse through an opening at the bottom of the back door.
鈥淚 expect it鈥檚 probably not that bad of a little den in the winter,鈥� Shannon said.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game Wildlife Management Biologist Carl Koch suspects it was a black bear based upon photos of the tracks he saw and the fact that a
That homeowner yelled at the bear but it didn鈥檛 react. It also didn鈥檛 approach her but lumbered about its business, like it was in a walking hibernation mode.
Even though it鈥檚 winter, Koch said they get calls all year round about bears being out.
And 2020 was a record year for general bear problems in the Haines area. Reasons for that, he said, could include the fact it was a poor salmon run year combined with a mediocre berry crop. 鈥淚t is also possible a bear couldn鈥檛 put on enough fat when they go in the den, that they might be out and about more often or earlier,鈥� he said.
Koch suspects Shannon鈥檚 wound was caused by the bear swatting at her with a paw rather than being bitten. Either way, the location might be a first.
鈥淎s far as getting swatted on the butt when you鈥檙e sitting down in winter, she could be the only person on Earth that this has ever happened to, for all I know,鈥� Koch said.
No matter the season, Erik says he鈥檒l carry bear spray with him all the time when going into the backcountry, and Shannon plans to change one
鈥淚鈥檓 just going to be better about looking inside the toilet before sitting down, for sure,鈥� she said.
Mark Thiessen, The Associated Press
