A tragic incident took place in the remote Alaskan village of Wales, where a polar bear mauled and killed a woman and a boy. This is a rare occurrence in Alaska, but scientists have warned that the chance of polar bear encounters have risen as the bear’s sea ice habitat is melting, causing them to come on land more often in search of food. The attack took place on Tuesday, January 17.
According to state troopers, the polar bear had entered the community and chased multiple residents, before fatally attacking the adult female and juvenile male. The bear was shot and killed by a local resident as it attacked the pair. The names of the victims have not been released and troopers are working to inform family members, as reported by local broadcaster KTUU.
Troopers and the state Department of Fish and Game are planning to travel to Wales to investigate the incident, but the travel will depend on weather conditions. Wales is a predominantly Inupiaq town with a population of 100.
Fatal polar bear attacks have been a rarity in Alaska in recent times, with the last reported attack taking place in 1990, when a polar bear killed a man in the village of Point Lay, further north of Wales. Biologists later found that the animal had showed signs of starvation.
In 2019, scientists with the US Geological Survey found that drastic changes to the polar bear’s sea ice habitat have prompted the animal to come on land more often. As polar bears search for food on land to stave off starvation, the chance of encounters between the world’s largest bears and humans has also increased.
