A female brown bear. (Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
A Haines Borough Police Officer shot and killed a female bear in a residential area early Tuesday morning. The night before, residents had reported a large bear in the Skyline Estates area of Haines. One man said he tried to scare the bear off his property, but it would not leave. According to Haines Police Chief Heath Scott, Officer Brayton Long responded to the area early the next day. Long dispatched the bear near Highland Drive and Oslund Drive at 5:30 a.m. According to Officer Long, the bear had visited the area on multiple occasions.
Later that day, officers cited an individual for leaving bear attractants unsecured. Haines police did not respond to requests for more information about the incident.
Last week, Haines Police received permission from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to euthanize a sow and two cubs that had been damaging property around town. In a phone call, Fish and Game Biologist Carl Koch said that it was highly unlikely the bear shot Tuesday was one of those bears.
