A sow was shot and killed Tuesday but its two cubs were brought to the Alaska Zoo, Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials say. A private citizen killed another brown bear in July.
people in the area to use caution. State biologists say they are also tracking other reports of brown bears seen digging through trash cans near Rabbit Creek.Along with the brown bear killed by state wildlife officials this week, a private citizen shot and killed another brown bear on July 12 because it had gotten into a chicken coop on Rabbit Creek Road, Battle said. No brown bears were killed by the department or citizens in Anchorage during the previous two years, he said.
The bears can become habituated to people when they venture into neighborhoods to eat unsecured trash, birdseed or get into chicken coops, wildlife authorities say. When bears become too comfortable around people they can become dangerous. A bear will repeatedly come back to areas with easy access to food, officials say, and often those animals end up being killed to protect the public.“These are all human-caused problems, even when we have to kill bears. ...
Biologists are monitoring the situation, but Battle said additional bears may be killed if reports of brown bear activity continue. “Black bears we give a lot more leeway because often we can handle those situations with education and enforcement,” he said. “If brown bears start getting into trash we still try the education and enforcement, but once trash is on a brown bear’s menu, I don’t know that it’s possible to get it off, so we usually have to kill the bear.”
It’s against state law to leave unsecured trash out and is subject to a $320 fine. Battle urged people to use bear-resistant trash cans or store garbage inside until the morning it is scheduled for pick up. Chicken owners can use electric fences to protect their coops from bears, he said.Tess Williams is a reporter focusing on breaking news and public safety. Before joining the ADN in 2019, she was a reporter for the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota. Contact her at [email protected].
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