The Latest: Bear that mauled professor was a brown bear

JUNEAU, Alaska – The Latest on a university educator mauled by a bear in Alaska (all times local):

9:45 p.m.

A group of students and teaching assistants has arrived safely in Juneau after a bear mauling that sent one of their professors to the hospital in critical condition.

Students disembarking from the ferry Tuesday evening said they were tired, not yet ready to talk and headed to the nearby University of Alaska Southeast campus.

Forest Wagner, 35, was teaching a mountaineering class with 11 students and two teaching assistants when he was attacked by a brown bear with sows.

The Washington Post reports that an initial Alaska State Trooper said Wagner suffered extensive leg injuries.

Troopers contracted with a Juneau-based helicopter company to airlift Wagner from the mountain to an Anchorage hospital, where his condition was later upgraded to serious from critical.

___

6:50 p.m.

A University of Alaska Southeast spokeswoman says it was a brown bear that mauled an assistant professor on a mountain near Haines, Alaska.

Spokeswoman Katie Bausler says Forest Wagner, 35, was with a group of students and teaching assistants running a mountaineering class on Mount Emmerich on Monday when he tangled with a brown bear sow. No students were hurt, but they were evacuated from the mountain when the bear, who had cubs, was seen again, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Troopers reported that a student hiked into cellphone range to report the attack. They rescued the outdoor education professor from the mountain via helicopter.

Wagner was flown to the intensive care unit at an Anchorage hospital in critical condition, but he is now listed in serious condition.

___

2:40 p.m.

The condition of an assistant university professor who was mauled by a bear in southeast Alaska is improving.

A spokesman at Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage says 35-year-old Forest Wagner’s condition has been upgraded to serious.

A University of Alaska Southeast spokeswoman says Wagner was with a group of students and teaching assistants leading a mountaineering course on Mount Emmerich near Haines, Alaska, when he was attacked by a sow with two cubs. No students were hurt.

Alaska State Troopers reported they were called to rescue Wagner. A spokeswoman said the school group was spread out on the mountain and it was unclear if anyone witnessed the attack.

An Alaska Department of Fish and Game spokesman says a biologist plans to interview the students about the attack after they return to Juneau.

___

9 a.m.

An assistant professor who was mauled by a bear while teaching a mountaineering course in southeast Alaska 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.

A University of Alaska Southeast spokeswoman says Wagner was with a group of 11 students and two teaching assistants 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 co-ordinating 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.

___

9:45 p.m.

A teacher has been hospitalized after he was mauled by a bear during a mountaineering class in the Alaska Panhandle.

A University of Alaska Southeast spokeswoman says Forest Wagner was with a group of 11 students and two teaching assistants on Mount Emmerich near Haines, Alaska, on Monday when he was attacked. No students were hurt.

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

The university says Wagner was taken to Providence Hospital in Anchorage. His condition was not immediately available, but the university said he was stable.

Wagner has been co-ordinating and teaching in the outdoor studies program at the university since 2006, according to his biography. He teaches rock and ice climbing, backcountry navigation, glacier travel and mountaineering.