ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – DNA analysis has confirmed that a lone male brown bear was responsible for injuring two U.S. Army soldiers during a land navigation training exercise at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in April, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Thursday.
The agency said it has officially closed its investigation into the April 17 attack, which occurred in a remote area of the base west of the Glenn Highway near an active bear den. Both soldiers were injured in what wildlife officials described at the time as a defensive attack by a bear emerging from hibernation.
Genetic testing conducted by the ADF&G Gene Conservation Lab in Anchorage confirmed the animal was a single male brown bear, ruling out the possibility that multiple bears were involved…