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.
-
IPS students head back to classroom for first day of school
Students at one of Central Indiana’s largest school districts, Indianapolis Public Schools, are headed back to class Thursday.Gordon Hayward retires after 14 NBA seasons with Utah, Boston, Charlotte and Oklahoma City
Gordon Hayward, who nearly gave Butler a national title over Duke with a half-court shot that just missed on the final play of the 2010 NCAA men’s basketball championship game, retired from the NBA after 14 seasons on ThursdayDrunk driver strikes, kills 29-year-old woman on golf cart in Delaware County
Court documents allege the man had a blood alcohol concentration of .158. He was also found to have a stolen semi-automatic 9mm handgun.Algeria boxer Imane Khelif wins first Olympic fight when opponent Angela Carini quits
Khelif was disqualified from the 2023 world championships after failing an unspecified gender eligibility test, and her presence at the Paris Olympics has become a divisive issue.