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Professor mauled by bear in critical condition

Posted at 1:11 PM, Apr 19, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-19 13:11:16-04

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – A University of Alaska assistant professor who was mauled by a bear while teaching a mountaineering course is in critical condition.

A spokesman at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage says 35-year-old Forest Wagner is in the intensive care unit Tuesday, a day after the attack in southeast Alaska.

A University of Alaska, Southeast, spokeswoman says Wagner was with a group of 12 students on Mount Emmerich near Haines, Alaska, when he was attacked by a sow with two cubs. No students were hurt Monday.

A student hiked down the mountain to get cellphone reception and call for help.

Wagner’s biography says he’s been coordinating and teaching in the outdoor studies program at the university’s Juneau campus since 2006. He teaches rock and ice climbing, backcountry navigation, glacier travel and mountaineering.