Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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Police Shoot, Kill Black Bear in Muldoon NeighborhoodEven though police say the bear wasn't aggressive, based on the location, the police opted for killing the animal instead of relocating it.
An Anchorage black bear was killed Friday, it was the first bear killed in town this year.
The Anchorage Police Department killed the animal a little after 11:30 p.m. Friday night after it was found walking around a Muldoon neighborhood. Police reported that teenagers in the area were taunting it. Even though police say the bear wasn't aggressive, based on the location, the police opted for killing the animal instead of relocating it. “The officer contacted me, stated that the bear wasn't afraid of him or anybody around and was digging through some trash and at that time we made the determination to shoot the bear,” said Sgt. Mark Rein of the Anchorage Police Department The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said it’s very early for an agency like the Anchorage Police Department to take down a bear, and while necessary for the situation, it could have been avoided. “Issues like this, when we have to shoot bears in town, can always be avoided if the homeowners and the people who are leaving their trash out negligently take a little bit of responsibility for cleaning up their area,” said Jessy Coltrane of The Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said there were at least two bears killed as a result of trash negligence last year. They also said people responsible for the trash can be fined $310 for leaving out their garbage on days other than trash night. |
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SME said on Sunday, May 8 at 12:20 AM
Why not relocate the bear and fine the teens that were teasing it? It would have been a much better solution.
66671277Curt said on Sunday, May 8 at 7:12 AM
This is Anchorage - not bear central folks. Sorry - but only a liberal would make a comment that this situation "CAN ALWAYS BE AVOIDED" - I think any bear (or moose) that is walking around in the largest city in Alaska needs to be put down or relocated. Thanks APD for doing the inteligent thing!
66680411@Curt- said on Sunday, May 8 at 9:18 AM
Actually it can always be avoided. People need to realize that trash is an invitation to a bear. It's not something they can reason out. It's just another food source for one of the apex omnivores. So curt, before you spout off nonsense, before you go throwing out platitudes that in the long run actually hurt homeowners AND bears, think...and if that's either not possible or just something that is so out of practice for you that it's no longer really an option, try to at least remember the words of an Educator I still remember and admire. "Sometimes it's better to say nothing and let people think you're an idiot rather than speak up and prove them right".
66684518AKFUN said on Sunday, May 8 at 9:23 AM
shoot the teens for harassment, fine the police for hunting out of season , and fine the trash owners for baiting the bears. bears were here first and need to be kept around.
66684664Anonymous said on Sunday, May 8 at 12:42 PM
I think that Curt and any people think that bear and moose should be shot or relocated. They should relocate themselves. This is Wild Alaska! Deal with it or move out.
66690329Phil said on Sunday, May 8 at 12:51 PM
I believe that it was wrong to have to kill the bear. The teenagers who were harassing it are the ones who should of been shot. Even with being harassed the bear was not threatening or aggressive. There could of been another way of handling the situation rather than killing it. The people who left garbage out should be shot too! It was a needless senseless killing due to the stupidity of the teenagers and the people who left the garbage out.
66690547steve said on Sunday, May 8 at 1:19 PM
Shoot the damn things so our streets are safe and get on with it .If you want to see bears walk a half hour east from Muldoon. and go play in their back yard
66691262Hans said on Sunday, May 8 at 2:42 PM
Sad to see the bear get shot, fine the people harrassing the bear and the people with the garbarge. Also aint'that weird, black things getting shot by cops.? Why not put it to sleep and move it outta town? cops just want to shoot things.. No respect for wildlife. What next? stupid people running in the woods.
66693036Mary said on Sunday, May 8 at 2:42 PM
This story brings tears to my eyes! The bears are wild and they inhabited the land before people did. The people that are leaving trash out should be fined Heavily ~ They are the ones to blame for this innocent bear being killed. Also ~ the Police should have alerted the fish and game to relocate instead of murdering it.
66693037Anonymous said on Sunday, May 8 at 3:25 PM
Is this the first thing that comes into APD,s mind when they see a bear? Quick kill it, we saved the world again high five everybody
66694004olddg said on Sunday, May 8 at 3:30 PM
Curt is another cop so he wants to kill every thing he see,s. If it were up to Curt every single animal,. moose birds squirrels would be hunted down and exterminated. That way we don,t need parks and trees. Bulldoze every thing and then pave it, who needs parks and trees
66694147Baileysmom said on Sunday, May 8 at 4:37 PM
I agree with SME I know that it cant always be avoided but if the bear wasnt showing aggression after being harrassed by teenagers in my opinion it deserved a chance to live and the extra effort to relocate and not destroy, Keep your trash up people and dont be so lazy,
66695893Andrew said on Sunday, May 8 at 4:46 PM
I dont get it? Bear kills a girl last year and they say stay out of that area. Bear dont kill this year and they kill it? Hmmmmm? K
66696078Peaches said on Sunday, May 8 at 6:38 PM
I dont agree with this just relocate the damn animal. They already said wasnt aggressive
66699317Pooh. said on Sunday, May 8 at 8:27 PM
Probably a good time to post the laws on trash again.
66702101Andy said on Monday, May 9 at 3:52 AM
Why are people flaming these teenagers for taunting it? Yelling, screaming, and throwing things at a bear digging through garbage, while fitting the definition of taunting, is still the correct thing to do. The fact that the bear disregarded the taunting is why it's dead.
66707961neighbor said on Monday, May 9 at 5:06 PM
AFG could have tranquilized the bear, bcoz it was'nt hurting anyone AT THE TIME, HOWEVER everyone makes mistakes and if AFG's "arrow" had missed the bear, it (the bear) would have hurt everyone close enough to catch and the arrow could have ended up sticking out of a person. *it's muldoon road, apd is a shorter drive.
66752187wot said on Tuesday, Sep 20 at 7:24 AM
You dumb Kurt ... you only have to understand that is you invading the Bear Territory , you're in it's city. Therefore, you should be relocated or taken down
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