FLICKR, HENNING LEWEKE, SKY#WALKERA birdwatching trip turned violent on Sunday (April 28) when a brown bear attacked a family in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, the Peninsula Clarion reported. Toby Burke, a 48-year old biologist who works at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, fought the bear with a spotting scope mounted on a 6-foot-tall tripod and suffered only minor bruises, while his wife and three children were unharmed.
“When the bear was headed towards us, we were like, ‘OK, it’s do or die now,’” Burke told ABC News.
He and his family had spied the animal through the spotting scope when it was about a quarter of a mile away but subsequently lost track of it among the dunes. Then Burke’s 11-year-old daughter noticed it coming up behind the family.
They gathered together and made loud noises, but the bear was undeterred and began to run toward them. “At that point we knew it wasn’t going to be a very good encounter,” Burke told the Peninsula Clarion.
Burke stood in front of his 11-year-old daughter, his 8-year-old son, and his wife, who was carrying their 7-month-old infant, shielding them from the bear. Holding ...
