A routine morning jog in Kenai, Alaska, turned into a fight for survival when 36-year-old Ariean Fabrizio Colton was viciously attacked by a brown bear and dragged more than 100 yards down the road. The incident happened around 5 AM on Tuesday, just moments after Colton stepped outside her home. Wildlife officials said the bear charged from a nearby property, ambushing her roughly 150 feet away before pulling her across the ground. A neighbour later discovered her bloodied and in shock on his property. Alaska Wildlife Trooper David Looring told KTUU, “He heard the barking, wolfing sound of a bear, he’d been around bears before and he thought a bear might have got a dog and was doing something in the neighbourhood.”“He didn’t really think much of it and then he heard it some more. [In] daylight, he walked out there and located a female in the woods on his property.” Colton, a nurse who had recently moved to southern Alaska, was conscious but bleeding heavily from her face and scalp. She was airlifted to Anchorage, nearly three hours away, where she underwent surgery. “She is stable, but has suffered severe injuries that will require extensive surgeries and a long hospital stay,” her loved ones said in a GoFundMe appeal that has since raised more than $63,700, New York Post reported. In an update on Saturday, they added, “Ariean has had her initial surgery and the doctors are positive and hopeful. It is still a long road to recovery.” Authorities believe a brown bear was behind the attack based on tracks found nearby, though the animal has not been located. Officials are urging residents and visitors to remain cautious as bears bulk up on salmon and berries before winter. “If you do get out in the woods, make sure you can hear your surroundings and what is going on,” Looring said. “And that can be as simple as putting in one AirPod and not two.”
