The bear went on a rampage in the small community of Wells, and a resident fatally shot the polar bear. After it attacked a woman and child, the state Department of Public Safety said in a dispatch.
The department said. Their ages were also unavailable.
“Preliminary reports state that a polar bear entered. The community and chased many residents,” the dispatch read.
The investigation was ongoing but may take time. Troopers and state Department of Fish and Game officials will travel there. When weather conditions permit, according to the dispatch. A spokesman for the Department of Fish and Game did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fatal polar bear attacks are rare in Alaska’s recent history. In 1990, a polar bear killed a man in the village of Point Le, further north in Wales. Biologists later said the animal showed signs of starvation. The Anchorage Daily News reported.
A 2017 study found that polar bear attacks on humans have increased this century. And sea ice covered perhaps the least amount of land — from July to December. As the ice recedes, bears are more likely to migrate inland and encounter humans. Researchers say.
Wells is a village of less than 200 residents on the Seward Peninsula, about 100 miles northwest of Nome. The Native Village of Wells Tribal Council website describes. It as “one of the oldest communities in the Bering Strait region”.
