Four members of an Alaska family had an all-too-close call with a brown bear while heading to a favorite fishing hole. It happened near Hoonah in southern Alaska just west of Juneau.
The bear charged the group but 11-year-old Elliot Clark responded instinctively and immediately.
Lucas Clark, Elliot’s father, had not yet put a sling on his son’s shotgun so he was carrying it with his hands instead of on his shoulder. They carried guns as a means of protection in bear country.
“Wow. Just wow,” Shelley Hughes, Alaska state senator, stated on her Facebook page. “The day before this walk to the fishing hole, Elliot changed out the out-of-season birdshot in his firearm–a reminder lesson to be prepared. So, so glad he did that.”
(Photo source: Senator Shelley Hughes Facebook page)