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The young adult male black bear captured in Rio Rancho. (Dean Hanson/Albuquerque Journal)

State Department of Game and Fish officers are searching for an adult black bear that attacked a 56-year-old man Wednesday evening on a hiking trail near Los Alamos.

The Los Alamos man, whom the department would not identify, suffered deep flesh wounds and scratches to his head, chest and hands, and was being treated at Christus St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe, according to a news release.

The victim said he was running on the trail about 7 p.m. when he encountered a female bear and its cub on the trail, according to officer reports. The cub ran up a tree.

The victim tried to scare the female bear away by making noise, but the bear charged, knocking him into a streambed, and then started biting and clawing at his head.

A black bear — not this one from a file photo — attacked jogger near Los Alamos Wednesday evening.

When the bear stopped attacking and the victim tried to stand up, the bear attacked again and then walked away.

The victim was able to walk 2½ miles back to his car, where he retrieved his personal identification and flagged down a motorist, who took him to Los Alamos Medical Center, the department said. The man was treated for his wounds before being taken to Christus St. Vincent Hospital in Santa Fe.

Bear hair samples were collected from the victim and his clothes to help identify the animal.

Game and Fish said conservation officers using dogs were searching for the bear Thursday with assistance from Los Alamos police and Los Alamos National Laboratory. If found, the bear will be tested for rabies, although rabies in bears is rare, according to a department news release.

The trail where the attack occurred, the Canyon de Valle Trail, was closed.

The incident was the third in the state this year in which a bear attack resulted in injuries to a human. In early July, a bear bit a Raton girl while she was sleeping in a tent outside her house. In early June, a bear attacked and scratched a man who was searching for antlers in Lincoln County.