ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A boy walking to his school bus stop in Seward, Alaska, was knocked down by a brown bear sow but escaped with superficial injuries Tuesday morning, according to Steve Atwater, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent.
"There were some minor puncture wounds from a claw," said Atwater, who declined to name the boy, provide his age or specify the location of the encounter, which occurred in the Bear Lake area of Seward, a small town about 125 miles south of Anchorage.
The student was taken to the Providence Seward Hospital, where he was examined and released in the care of his parents. State troopers were notified and are investigating.
Atwood said the student saw the bear approach, but when he turned to leave the fast-approaching sow knocked him down. The boy covered up, Atwater said, and sow soon lost interest and left.
"It's a very scary moment, but a huge relief how it turned out," Atwater said. "The boy did the right thing by lying still."
Bears have not yet gone into hibernation, and district spokeswoman Kelly Reising urged parents to stay with their children while waiting for the school bus to arrive.
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