An Alaskan woman was mauled by a bear late Tuesday night and is now recovering from the horrific incident, according to authorities.
The incident of the woman mauled by bear occurred while two employees at the Alaska Wildland Adventures lodge - Gabbriele Markel, 20, and Kaitlin Haley, 26 - were jogging along a trail in Alaska's Kenai Peninsula, 50 miles south of Anchorage and about three-quarters of a mile from their lodge.
They appeared to have started the bear, which suddenly appeared from behind a thick brush and knocked Markel to the ground. As the woman was mauled by the bear, Haley ran for help, reported CBS News.
According to police spokeswoman Megan Peters, when Haley and several other employees got back from the lodge armed with bear spray, they saw Markel simply walking towards them. They put the woman mauled by bear on a boat and took her across the lake to meet up with emergency officials, Peters said.
Markel was then airlifted to Providence Hospital in Anchorage. The staff later told NBC News that from being fair, her condition has been upgraded to good by Wednesday afternoon.
Although Markel's wounds - bites, scratches on the head, back and arm - weren't seen as life-threatening, authorities say getting her to the hospital as soon as possible was the proper thing to do.
"She didn't appear to have life-threatening injuries at the time but they can turn life threatening," said Peters. "It's always important to get them to the hospital as soon as possible."
As for Markel, she has declined any requests for interview.
Peters added that they reported the incident of the woman mauled by bear to the Alaskan wildlife preserve, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge.
Kenai area wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Jeff Selinger, said that Markel's attack is the first bear attack on the Kenai Peninsula this year. Selinger added that the area normally gets only one to two attacks annually.
"Most of the attacks are surprise encounters, on both ends," said Selinger. "Or the sow (female bear) has cubs."
The reason for the incident of the woman mauled by bear remains unknown. Selinger said that the reason for such attacks are usually hard to determine, adding that it's important to bring bear spray in areas with bears.
According to the Daily Mail, the trail is temporarily closed for further investigation.
CBS affiliate KTVA spoke with spokesperson Ken Marsh for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and asked what to do if attacked by a brown bear.
"Go ahead and fall into a fetal position, cover your head and face and neck the best you can and try to stay still," he said. "Once the bear realizes you're not a threat, generally they'll go ahead and leave."
