Dump Bear Put Down in Old Harbor

OLD HARBOR, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska Fish and Game Department official says a thin female brown bear with four young cubs has been fatally shot Monday at the Old Harbor landfill after numerous efforts to deter her failed and she repeatedly menaced people.
Fish and Game regional supervisor Larry Van Daele described the bear as a landfill "junkie," saying she could not break the habit of eating garbage, even with a new electric fence around and a nearby stream full of salmon.
Trooper Sgt. Eric Olsen said the Old Harbor Bear Patrol Team tried for months to scare the animal off, blaring the village police officer’s vehicle siren and pelting the bear with rubber bullets and bean bags.
In a statement, troopers described the bear as blind in one eye and "very emaciated." Van Daele says the cubs have not been seen since their mother was shot. He says their survival chances are not good.