According to Alaska State Troopers, a polar bear attacked and killed a boy and a girl Tuesday afternoon in Wales, Northwest Alaska.
Troopers were notified about a polar bear attack at 2:30 p.m. by troopers in an online report. Troopers said that a polar bear entered the village and chased several people.
Troopers said that the bear attacked a boy and a girl, killing one of them. Troopers said that another resident of Wales shot and killed the bear as it attacked the pair.
Troopers said that officials are in process of notifying their next-of-kin about the deaths in the mauling.
Austin McDaniel is a spokesperson for the Alaska Department of Public Safety. He said that troopers have been working with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to coordinate their efforts to send personnel to Wales when the weather permits.
Wales, a village of Inupiaq fewer than 150 residents, is located at the western edge of Seward Peninsula bordering Bering Strait. It is just over 100 miles north of Nome.
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, polar bears are found as far south and south as St. Lawrence Island in winter. They also travel further south from time to time. Males can reach up to 1,200 lbs and females 700 lbs, while their primary diet is marine mammals. There are no other natural predators.
Alaska is extremely lucky to have no fatal polar bear attacks. A polar bear attacked Point Lay, North Slope in 1990 and killed a man. Later, biologists said that the animal had signs of starvation. A polar bear pounced on a windowof a North Slope Air Force radar station in 1993. It seriously mauled a 55-year old mechanic. The attack was not fatal for him.
Joseph Jessup McDermott said that polar bears are spending more time on the land because of the opening of the ocean later in the year and loss of sea-ice. This increases the likelihood of humans meeting them. He is the executive director for the Alaska Nannut Co–Management Council. This tribally-authorized organization consists of 15 Alaska tribes (including Wales) that traditionally harvested polar bears to subsistence.
McDermott stated that it has been rare for such attacks in the last few decades. It’s tragic that it happened.
McDermott stated that the Chukchi Sea population of polar bears is in good health, but there have been reports of polar bears seeking out alternative food sources like trash. He said that residents from as far as Noatak in the inland reported seeing animals about 10 years ago.
McDermott stated that while rare events like a bear appearing in Noatak are not common, the presence of bears in areas like Wales is a regular and normal occurrence.
Some communities in Alaska, such as those on the North Slope, have had polar bear patrols to ensure safety. This is not the case in Wales.
McDermott stated that Wales does not have an active Polar Bear Patrol Program at the moment due to lack funding from the government. “But this is something that ANCC and other nongovernmental organizations have tried to pursue.”
The Anchorage Daily News originally published this story. It is republished with permission.
