A Bare Tail

Shannon Stevens won’t soon forget her recent snowmobile trip to the family yurt at Chilkat Lake in Alaska. They had finished cooking sausages over an open fire and retired to the yurt when Mother Nature beckoned necessitating a trip to the necessarium, aka the outhouse. No sooner had she sat upon the throne when Ms Stevens felt a sharp jab to her exposed self and screamed. When her brother came to investigate he noticed a cinnamon coloured bear’s head framed by the toilet seat. They guess the damage was inflicted by a swipe of the claw or a bite.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Carl Koch said that he thinks the animal was a black bear.

With her brother’s help Ms Stevens treated the wound and later attended a health clinic. She later told the Anchorage Daily News that she will practice a “look before you sit” policy in the future.

Photo – Tom Armstrong