The woman encountered a sow and two cubs while letting her dogs outside before dawn, Alaska authorities said.
KENAI, Alaska — A brown bear seriously injured a woman on the front deck of her home near Kenai after she opened the door to let two dogs outside early July 9, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
The woman, whose name has not been released, was flown to an Anchorage-area hospital after the attack. Authorities have not provided details about her injuries or released an updated medical condition. Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Department of Fish and Game personnel investigated the property and collected samples left by the bears.
The encounter began at about 4:54 a.m. when the woman opened her front door and found an adult female brown bear and two cubs in the fenced yard, troopers said. One dog returned inside the house, while the other ran away from the doorway and into the yard.
The woman retrieved a shotgun and went back outside. She fired three or four rounds in an effort to frighten the bears away, according to investigators. Authorities have not said whether any of the shots struck a bear.
The adult bear then attacked the woman while she was on the front deck, officials said. Another woman in the house came outside and yelled at the animal, causing the sow and cubs to retreat. She helped the injured woman get back inside before emergency crews transported her for medical care.
Investigators later found several bird feeders in the yard that appeared to have been disturbed by the bears. Birdseed and other unsecured food sources can attract bears to homes, but authorities have not issued a final finding about what brought the animals into the yard or what directly triggered the attack.
The presence of cubs is an important part of the investigation. Alaska wildlife officials describe encounters involving a female bear and cubs as potentially defensive when the adult believes the young animals are threatened. Officials, however, have not publicly determined the sow’s behavior or motive in this case.
The attack occurred near Karluk Avenue off Kalifornsky Beach Road on the Kenai Peninsula. Homes in the area are close to wildlife habitat, and brown bears regularly move through parts of the peninsula. Officials did not release the exact address.
The incident followed another serious bear attack in the Kenai area in August 2025. In that case, a woman was attacked near her home while jogging and was also flown to Anchorage for treatment. Authorities have not connected the two attacks or suggested that the same bear was involved.
As of the afternoon of July 9, wildlife officials had not located the sow or the two cubs. The investigation remained open, and authorities had not announced whether the bears would be captured or removed. No further information about the injured woman’s recovery had been released by July 14.
Author note: Last updated July 14, 2026.