A young grizzly bear with a history of charging at people has attacked a woman in anAlaskan park.
Fangyuan Zhou, 28, had been walking with two friends on the Savage Alpine Trail in Denali National Park when she was attacked on Friday evening.Ms Zhou and her friends had seen the bear earlier and had been trying to avoid it, a spokesman for the National Park Service said.They had all "played dead" when he charged at them but the bear was curious and scratched and bit Ms Zhou.When the bear returned a few minutes later, one of the group members was able to scare himaway by throwing rocks.Ms Zhou was treated by park staff and choseto go to hospital in Anchorage.Another group of about 10 walkers were also approached by the bear just after Ms Zhou was injured.They were able to scare him off by shouting and waving their arms, which is recommended by park authorities to avoid a bear attack.The bear has a history of charging at people and on 22 June, he also stole food from a hiker's backpack.Officials say they have tried to teach the bear to stay away from humans but his behaviour is"erratic" and his "general interest in people represents an unacceptable risk to safety" in the popular six-million-acre national park.Park staff would "locate and kill the bear as soon as safely possible", they added.More than 300 bears roam Denali National Park but attacks are rare.In 2012, a man waskilled by a grizzly in the same park, with officials saying it was the park's first fatal bear attack.
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