Alaska State Police say a polar bear attacked and killed a woman and child in a remote western Alaska town.
The KTUU reported that the attack occurred around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in Wales, on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula.
Soldiers said the bear entered the town and chased several residents before fatally attacking the woman and child.
As the attack unfolded, soldiers said a resident shot and killed the bear.
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A male polar bear walks along the shore.
(Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
The victims have yet to be identified as authorities work to notify next of kin.
Wales is a small, predominantly Inupiaq town of about 150 people, just over 100 miles northwest of Nome.
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According to the Anchorage Daily News, fatal polar bear attacks have been rare in Alaska’s recent history.
A map showing Wales, Alaska. A woman and a child were killed by a polar bear in the remote village.
(Google Maps)
In 1990, a man was killed by a polar bear further north in Wales, in the village of Point Lay. Biologists later said the animal was showing signs of starvation.
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Alaska scientists from the US Geological Survey in 2019 found that changes in sea ice habitat had coincided with evidence that land use by polar bears was increasing and that the chances of a encounter with a polar bear had increased.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
