Jogging in Alaska, bring a shot gun

Photo from usask.ca
The Anchorage Daily News reported yesterday that a jogger - 1,000 feet from his house on the edge of Homer, on the Kenai Peninsula - was tackled by a grizzly bear that chewed and clawed him for about 20 seconds, then ran away. The jogger had his two dogs with him, but they're not responsible for fighting off the attack. When the bear came, they ran away.

The jogger credited a proper response to a bear attack for his survival. Which begs the question: What is the proper response to an animal attack?

In the interest of civic journalism, I offer these hints.

Bear attack: Curl into the fetal position and place arms over back of neck to protect the head, spine and vital organs.

Mountain lion atack: Fight back. Lions have been repelled with rocks, sticks, garden tools, kicks and bare hands; a well-placed kick to the face has been known to work. The best place to hit a puma is on the nose.

Shark attack: Fight back. Then get out of the water. Often sharks will only bite once, then circle around later for another look.

Killer bee attack: Run away in a straight line, Africanized bees are slow. You can out run them. Protect your face. Avoid other people, or they too will be attacked. Do not try and hide underwater. The bee swarm will wait for you to surface.