‘It was a growl then immediate charge' says Alaska hunter who accidentally shot himself in bear attack

A man in Alaska was hospitalized after accidentally shooting himself in the leg while defending against a brown bear.

Tyler Johnson, 32, was on Kenai Peninsula's Resurrection Pass Trail south of Anchorage with his father when they encountered a brown bear. The bear charged at Johnson, prompting him to shoot in an attempt to protect himself.

"Fortunately, I managed to draw my pistol and fire as I fell backwards," Johnson recounted of the horror bear attack. He was shot in the leg, with the bullet passing through it.

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Johnson was uncertain whether additional injuries were due to his self-inflicted gunshot or the bear's attack. "I definitely felt the bear bite into me," he said.

The Alaska Department of Public Safety reported that first aid was provided in the field after Johnson sent an SOS. He was subsequently airlifted to an Anchorage hospital for further treatment. The bear was killed by hunters during the incident, according to troopers.

He was hiking with his dad on the Resurrection Pass Trail near Cooper Landing when they were ambushed by the brown bear.

In their attempt to ward off the bear, both men fired at the animal. However, during the chaos, the 32 year old was accidentally shot in the leg.

Tim DeSpain, a spokesman for the Alaska State Troopers, stated that it remains unclear who fired the shot that hit the 32 year old.

The hunters eventually succeeded in killing the bear during the attack, as confirmed by state troopers. Following the incident, the injured man was airlifted to an Anchorage hospital for treatment.

His hunting partner was also evacuated by an Alaska Rescue Coordination Center rescue team.

Despite the incident, brown bears in the United States are not classified as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

While bear attacks are considered rare, there have been 10 confirmed deaths from eight bear attacks in Alaska from 2000 to 2017, according to a 2019 study by the Alaska Section of Epidemiology.

In that time period, 68 people were hospitalized for injuries from 66 bear attacks, according to the study.