A 12-year-old girl played dead to ward off a black bear when it attacked her in a US forest, leaving her with cuts, bruises and puncture wounds.
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Abigail Wetherell was one of six people attacked by bears in the US on Thursday, with hikers and rangers mauled in Yellowstone National Park and nearby forests.
A hunter was also mauled by a brown bear in northern Alaska and rescued by a helicopter crew using night vision goggles.
The girl, known as Abby, was attacked while running on a dirt road near a cabin on her grandfather's property in Wexford County, in Michigan's north west, Detroit Free Press reported.
Her grandfather, Dave Wetherell, said Abby saw the bear and tried to run away, but it knocked her to the ground and mauled her.
Mr Wetherell said when she tried to get up, the bear knocked her down again before she played dead.
A neighbour heard Abby's screams and was able to scare the bear off.
Mr Wetherell said bears were often spotted in the area, but this was the first attack.
"Typically, the bear will run from you," he told the newspaper.
"It's very scary to think that you're just walking in the woods, and all of a sudden you're attacked by a bear."
The attack shredded the girl's clothes and left her with injuries that required surgery.
Mr Wetherell said Abby was a brave girl who loved the outdoors, and she had vowed to return to the property.
Officials said it was unlikely the bear was trying to protect cubs, as there was no sign of baby bears in the area. The attack appeared to be unprovoked.
In Alaska, a hunter waited more than 36 hours to be rescued after being mauled by a brown bear in a remote mountain range.
The man, who was part of a guided hunting party about 50 kilometres north of the tiny village of Anaktuvuk Pass, was initially treated by a doctor who was part of another group hunting nearby.
Rescue efforts by local search teams and Alaska State Troopers were turned back on Thursday because of dense fog.
The Alaska Air National Guard launched a search-and-rescue plane and helicopter from an Air Force base near Fairbanks after midnight on Friday.
The plane's crew launched flares to guide the helicopter through a pass and the helicopter reached the man in the very early hours of Friday, using night vision goggles to find him.
Four other people – two hikers and two rangers – were attacked in Yellowstone National Park and a nearby forest in Idaho late last week.
The first attack occurred on Thursday when a group of four hikers came face-to-face with a young bear cub on a trail in Yellowstone.
The mother of the cub appeared almost immediately and charged the hikers.
"One person was treated at the scene, while the second injured hiker was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with bite and claw wounds," Yellowstone Park authorities said in a statement.
The confrontation lasted about a minute, before the hikers sprayed bear repellent to stop the attack.
In a separate incident, two employees of the Bureau of Land Management in Idaho were attacked while performing a forest health assessment, The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday.
One of the two men needed treatment for bite wounds on his thigh and buttocks while the second man was bitten on the hand as he attempted to use bear spray.
A spokesman for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game said the bear had probably been disturbed by the men while resting.
AFP, AP and Fairfax Media
