Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game confirmed Friday that a 23rd bear was killed in defense of life and property in Haines. 

The most recent DLP comes after a bear or bears broke into dozens of Haines cars in the last two weeks, causing extensive damages.

Carl Koch is Fish and Game’s Juneau-based management biologist for the Haines area.

“This bear was causing a lot of damage and unfortunately, it needed to be removed. And so I’m cautiously optimistic that it could be the bear that was getting in the cars and looking for folks to keep us posted if they see new situations where car doors are being opened,” said Koch.

Koch says he was planning a trip to Haines to try and stop the car-savvy bear, but a Haines resident and the police department handled it first.

“Last night, at about midnight, one of the Haines police officers sent me a text and said, ‘There’s a bear breaking into boats in the harbor. It looks like the one that got in the car the other day, I intend to dispatch it.” And I said, you know, go ahead. And about an hour later, he texts me to say that they were successful,” Koch said.

Haines Borough Police Department told the state agency that its officer shot and killed the bear. The resident declined an interview—he said he doesn’t feel great about shooting a bear, but his wife’s suburban was among this month’s destroyed cars. He staked out the harbor, where the bear was recorded on video exploring the dumpster and adjacent cars.

Other residents have taken to social media demanding action. Bears have caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of property damage this year. Koch says he gets it, but he can’t kill every bear in the Chilkat Valley. 

“It’s been a tough year for everybody. And we are… that’s not our mission. You know, what we do is we try to target specific bears that are causing the most trouble,” he said.

The bear population is unlikely to increase next season, and not just because bears are getting shot. Natural food sources like salmon and berries have not been abundant this summer and that affects how many cubs are born.

Bears reproduce with what’s called delayed implantation. That means that even if the bears mate in spring, the fertilized egg doesn’t implant in the uterus until late fall—if at all.

“If the sow goes in[to] the den too skinny, it won’t implant and she won’t have cubs,” said Koch.

Koch says there are two limitations on bear population: what the landscape can support and what society will tolerate. This year, both are likely to contribute to a decline in bear population in coming seasons.