WALES, Alaska (AP) — A polar bear has attacked and killed two people in a remote village in western Alaska, according to state troopers.
Alaska State Troopers said they received the report of the attack at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in Wales, on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula, KTUU reported.
“Initial reports indicate that a polar bear had entered the community and had chased multiple residents,” troopers wrote. “The bear fatally attacked an adult female and juvenile male."
The bear was shot and killed by a local resident as it attacked the pair, troopers said.
The names of the the two people killed were not released. Troopers said they were working to notify family members.
Troopers and the state Department of Fish and Game are planning to travel to Wales once weather allows for it, the dispatch said.
Wales is a small, predominantly Inupiaq town of about 150 people, just over 100 miles (161 kilometers) northwest of Nome.
Fatal polar bear attacks have been rare in Alaska's recent history. In 1990, a polar bear killed a man farther north of Wales in the village of Point Lay. Biologists later said the animal showed signs of starvation, the Anchorage Daily News reported.
Alaska scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey in 2019 found changes in sea ice habitat had coincided with evidence that polar bears’ use of land was increasing and that the chances of a polar bear encounter had increased.
-
2 shot, killed in east side double shooting
Police are investigating a fatal shooting that left one person dead in the 100 block of N Linwood Ave Saturday morningPolice investigating alleged road rage shooting on IU Indianapolis campus
Police are investigating an alleged road rage incident where gunshots were fired on Indiana University Indianapolis’ campus on Friday.High school football scores 2024: Week 3
It’s the third week of the 2024 high school football season. See all of the high school football scores in Indiana from Friday, September 6, 2024.Napheesa Collier scores 26 and Lynx win 99-88 over Fever
The Lynx trailed 50-45 at halftime before Collier scored nine of their opening 20 points of the third quarter for a 65-57 lead.