Alaska News

Another chicken coop raided by brown bear in Rabbit Creek neighborhood

Another chicken coop was raided early Thursday morning by a brown bear in Anchorage's Rabbit Creek neighborhood, although it is unclear whether it was the same bear as the one believed wounded after being shot while raiding a chicken coop in the Hillside area on Wednesday.

Anchorage police received a call at 10:07 p.m. Wednesday that a 500-to-600-pound brown bear was trying to get in the chicken coop of a house on Cody Circle, near Clark's Road and the Bear Valley Elementary School, according to police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker. They bear didn't get in then, but police received a call at 4:32 a.m. Thursday that the bear was back, and this time had gotten into the coop.

The woman was unable to tell if the bear was wounded. She stated that her husband was preparing to shoot it. Police responded and heard it "thrashing through the woods," heading northwest, Parker said. Police did not see the bear.

About 30 minutes later, another caller reported seeing a brown bear in the 140th Avenue area of Rabbit Creek.

Some 24 hours earlier, early Wednesday morning, Anchorage Police received a call that a resident had found the bear in his chicken coop and shot it with a 12-gauge shotgun, wounding the animal. Police dispatched to the area shortly afterward, and started following a blood trail in the area of Floral Lane and DeArmoun Rd., Parker said. Police followed the bear with several K-9 units but lost the trail around 4:20 a.m.

In light of these recent events, some people are questioning the safety of backyard chicken coops in Anchorage hillside residences.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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