Tag: Prudhoe Bay

Why young polar bear was ‘removed from the wild’ in Alaska

A young polar bear that had been spotted roaming alone near Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay will spend the rest of its life in captivity.

A young polar bear that had been roaming alone near Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay will spend the rest of its life in captivity.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service explained that the bear was recently captured and transported to the Alaska Zoo because it had become accustomed to people and was deemed a public safety threat.

“The decision to remove this bear from the wild was not made lightly,” said David Gustine, lead biologist for the USFWS’ Polar Bear Program. “Removing a bear is not a good outcome for the individual or the wild population, but we felt it was the best course of action in this situation.”

ALSO: Wolf tries to run down elk in Grand Teton National Park; video

The male cub is 10-11 months old. Its condition was described as “fair to good” despite a laceration on its upper lip.

“It had been observed eating a fox, lacerations on its upper lip are likely from that activity,” said Patrick Lampi, the Alaska Zoo’s executive director. “With rabies in fox prevalent in the Prudhoe Bay area, we have special extended quarantine procedures in place for this cub.”

It’s unclear where the bear will reside in the longterm, but the the USFWS stated: “Given the bear’s behavior around humans and its young age, it will not be returned to the wild.”

Polar bear cubs typically stay with their mothers for at least two years.

The last time a polar bear was removed from the wild in Alaska was in 2013. That male cub, orphaned in Point Lay, resides at the Saint Louis Zoo.

Polar Bears are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, primarily because of threats posed by vanishing sea ice due to climate change.

[listicle id=1990072]

Watch: Grizzly bear chases oil-field worker onto cab of truck

The accompanying footage shows an oil-field worker scurrying onto the cab of his truck to escape an aggressive grizzly bear and her cub.

**Updated to include the original video and explain why the grizzly bear sow was so aggressive. 

When you work at a remote oil field in Alaska, it pays to be bear aware.

In the accompanying footage, an oil-field employee is shown scurrying onto the cab of a truck to escape an aggressive grizzly bear and one of her two cubs.

The tense encounter occurred inside an Arctic Pipe Inspection yard at Prudhoe Bay, where the momma bear and her cubs are fairly well known to employees.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/24DESy87TwM

The employee shown watching from the yellow loader vehicle told FTW Outdoors that the sow was aggressive because had temporarily lost sight of her other cub. (The employee did not wish to disclose his name.)

Another employee captured the footage from the safety of the shop.

The tense situation lasted about a minute.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game told the employee that the sow and her cubs routinely feed in area dumpsters.

[listicle id=1945548]