Ironton area man recovering from bear attack

An Ironton area man is recovering from his injuries after being attacked by a bear Tuesday evening.

According to the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office, the man had let his dog out when the bear attacked him, and the man stepped in to help the dog.

“Many of us have dogs. We love our dogs and would protect them. And I think it was just a natural reaction,” explained Sheriff Eric Klang. “You can actually tell from both him and his wife that they love their dog and that no one will come between them and their dog. So they went and took immediate action to protect the dog from injury.”

The attack occurred in the 20000 block of Freeman Lane in Ironton Township. Sheriff Klang says the man’s injuries were not life-threatening, but he suffered fairly serious injuries.

“They will need a little time to recover from this trauma,” Klang said. “He suffered multiple stitches to his leg and face. And they, you know, he doesn’t think they came from… the bear that attacked him, but that he actually bit them or dragged them with his teeth across his face and his ear and his leg.”

The bear was gone when officers arrived at the scene. Authorities hope to find the bear but admit it could be difficult.

“Yes, it will be very difficult to confirm that this was the actual bear,” Klang added. “We got a good description of the male group that was attacked by the bear. But I mean, bears look kind of similar, but this bear didn’t seem like the right one. So I think we’ll look at the behavior of the bears and the quality of the bear’s fur and see if we can notice anything unusual about this bear.”

Klang said bear attacks are very rare, but he noted there was another bear attack in Crow Wing County in Lake Shore in 2023.