With Single Kick, Man Survives Attack From 500Lb. Bear

An armed cyclist suddenly accosted by a 500-pound brown bear in Alaska survived despite only protesting with a single kick. The male told authorities that he was riding his bike along a riverbed in Cantwell around 9:30am on Oct. 19 when he spotted the bear sprinting toward him at a distance of 10 to 15 yards, per CNN. With little time to react, the man jumped off the bike and "began yelling at the bear," Alaska Wildlife Troopers said in a statement. "Just prior to the bear making contact, the victim fell to the ground and onto his back," authorities added. In doing so, the man "believes he kicked at the bear." The bear bit the man's lower right leg below the knee. But that was the only contact and only bite, according to the statement.

The bear "then immediately retreated into the vegetation the same way it approached." The cyclist—who never felt compelled to use the firearm he was carrying—said he walked 400 yards to a highway and called a friend to take him to a health clinic, where he was treated for puncture wounds and a cut. The attack didn't appear to be predatory, Joelle Hepler, an assistant area wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told the Anchorage Daily News. Rather, "I would say that the bear was kind of triggered by the motion of the bike, that turned on its prey drive and he was curious." Alaska Wildlife Troopers, who learned about the incident a day later, said "no additional response or investigation" was required. (More bear attack stories.)