ALASKA – The same day that Kodiak brown bear cub Taquka was shipped to a new home in Sweden, Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center (AWCC) workers got news that his long-time companion had been shot.
Shaquyik, or Shaggy, escaped from the conservation center April 3 while workers were doing maintenance on the cub’s pen and briefly turned off the electric fence.
After getting reports that the bear discovered Wednesday in Portage looked like Shaggy, AWCC workers went to investigate and discovered the microchip in the two-year-old bear.
“This is a tragic end to this event,” said Mike Miller, executive director of the Center.
According to AWCC's Ethan Tyler, the Alaska State Troopers have not started investigating but will be looking into it.
The two orphaned bears moved to the AWCC in winter of 2010 from Kodiak. Staff searched for Shaggy, but were never able to find her.
