ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A polar bear chased several residents around a tiny, isolated Alaska Native whaling village, killing a mother and her 1\u002Dyear\u002Dold son…
The fatal mauling happened Tuesday near the school in Wales, an isolated Bering Strait coastal community located on the westernmost tip of the North American mainland — about 50 miles from Russia — that is no stranger to coexisting with polar bears.Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
Poor weather and a lack of runway lights at the Wales gravel air strip prevented troopers and wildlife officials from making it to Wales on Tuesday after the polar bear attack. Attempts were being made again Wednesday. It’s unclear if this attack was related to climate change, but it’s consistent with what is expected as the Arctic continues to warm at four times the rest of the Earth, changing the ecosystem in ways that are still not fully understood, York said. However, this particular bear is a member of a population that is doing fairly well, said Andrew Derocher, a professor of biological sciences at University of Alberta and an expert on polar bears.
Polar bears are the largest bear species, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Males can weigh more than 1,700 pounds , but typically weigh 600 to 1,200 pounds and reach up to 10 feet in length. Females weigh 400 to 700 pounds . Polar bears generally feed on seals but also prey on walruses and beluga whales.Article content
The group notes a few polar bear patrol programs in Alaska, including for Wales, which it said was seeking funding to maintain operations, and in the Native village of Diomede, where it says a patrol operates mainly in the winter to protect kids walking to and from school. Derocher, the professor of biological sciences at University of Alberta, said the location of the attack is far south in the distribution of polar bears, but it isn’t abnormal for them to be there.
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