Bear wandering through town killed by authorities
A young brown bear that wandered into town was shot Tuesday morning at the intersection of Spokane and West King Place.
The Nome Police Department received calls about the bear roaming the streets of Nome and contacted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game who have the authority to humanely kill a bear if it’s a threat to public safety, according to ADF&G Assistant Wildlife Biologist Alicia Carson.
The bear was shot at twice with a shotgun by ADF&G. According to Nome Police Chief Will Crockett it kept running, prompting a NPD officer to fire eight shots with his patrol rifle to kill the animal.
The situation occurred around 8 a.m. and many residents in the area were roused by the commotion.
“I woke up to gunshots, I thought it was someone getting shot so I looked out the window and said ‘Oh it’s a bear!’” Shoshannah Ashenfelter said.
After the bear was put down Ashenfelter said many people came out of their homes and into the street to see it.
The bear was estimated at around 1-4 years old and had been reported in the area to ADF&G in recent days. This was the first dispatch of a bear in town this year.
“We're certainly getting a lot of bear activity. I'm concerned that there are a lot of bears out there right now, seems more than in years past,” Crockett said.
Bears are attracted to town and residences by odor; hides and skulls, pet food, garbage, remains left from fish cleaning. They’re creatures of habit and will return to an area for food until it’s no longer available, Carson wrote in an email to the Nugget, which is why it’s important to properly store food and other attractants.
“In most cases, bears are not a threat but deserve your respect and attention,” Carson wrote.
An animal may be taken under the Defense of Life or Property regulation, but it is illegal to kill a bear that was attracted by improper storage of food or garbage. Once killed, the bear must be immediately salvaged and surrendered to ADF&G with a report submitted within 15 days.