Anchorage Daily News

Bear baiting charge against man dismissed

A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed the case against a Soldotna wildlife photographer who was accused of baiting bears without a permit while filming an episode of History Channel's "MonsterQuest," according to documents filed in court.

City reopens Bicentennial Park trail frequented by bears

An Anchorage city park trail where two people were mauled by grizzly bears in 2008 was reopened Monday to the public. The Rover's Run trail was unusually quiet this summer

Bear attacks teen bike racer

2nd woman mauled in Bicentennial Park

Black bear killed in Juneau mobile home park

Fish and Game officials killed a black bear early Saturday morning in Juneau after it entered the porch or arctic entryway of a Lemon Creek trailer.

Soldotna photographer fights bear-baiting charge

An Alaska man who set up a baiting station to photograph bears for an episode of the History Channel's "MonsterQuest" pleaded not guilty this week to a federal charge of baiting bears without a permit.

Video: Loren Coleman talks about giant bears (History Channel)

Hunter cited after bear killed in front of wildlife viewers

A hunter has been cited for violating a federal no-shooting zone after he and a partner opened fire Saturday on a brown bear on the edge of the Sterling Highway while wildlife viewers watched in dismay.

Quiet year for Anchorage bears after maulings of 2008

One summer after grizzlies swatted, chased and seriously mauled three people in the municipality of Anchorage, residents again this summer were hiking, biking and recreating in the great outdoors. The difference: they weren't being harassed and attacked by bears.

Bear run-ins decline in Southcentral town

State game officials report bear incidents are down in the Kodiak area this year.

Deer hunter fends off brown bear attack near Sitka

A Sitka deer hunter fended off a brown bear's attack by clubbing it with the butt of his rifle and then firing a round. Karl Wolfe, 39, escaped with bites to his arm.

More bear attack stories

Cameras reveal fault in Eagle River trail plan

A year after teenager Devon Rees was mauled by a bear near Eagle River's Meadow Creek in the middle of the night, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has turned the area into the Alaska equivalent of a Hollywood lot, mounting eight cameras to track bear movements this summer.

Reader-submitted: Bear sightings

Sitka's orphaned cubs may end up at a zoo

The three orphan bear cubs at the Fortress of the Bear may eventually wind up at a zoo in another state.

Cub's death highlights Sitka bear problem

Move afoot to require bear-resistant trash cans

The company that collects trash across most of the city wants to start providing bear-resistant garbage cans in outlying parts of town, and, for the first time, requiring customers to use them.

Video: Zoo bears try to get into a trash can

Bear sightings message board

Bear's raid on freezer turns out to be fatal

A homeowner and a retiree combined to fatally shoot a male black bear that raided a freezer in Ester this week.

No bear deaths this season in Kenai-Russian fishing zone

A year after nine bears were killed in defense of life and property near the confluence of the Russian and Kenai rivers, the death toll has dipped to zero.

Reader-submitted: Bear sightings

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Cub's death highlights Sitka bear problem

Sitka police and wildlife officials say the recent death of a cub shows why residents must do a better job of dealing with trash.

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Twig snap alerts dog-walker to charging grizzly

For Soldotna fishing guide Greg Brush, the rare and precious finally arrived -- a summer day off between king and silver salmon seasons. But then the slightest noise -- a twig snapping -- prompted Brush to glance over his shoulder to see, less than 20 yards away, a brown bear charging.

Reader-submitted: Bear sightings

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Man who shot 4 bears faces misdemeanor charges

Alaska wildlife officials have cited a Talkeetna area man who shot a sow and three cubs this month at his home. Don Tanner, 59, disputes the charges and, in an interview Monday, called them "frivolous."

Bear encounters and deaths on the rise across Mat-Su

Bear encounters and deaths on the rise across Mat-Su

Two weekends ago, a Talkeetna-area man woke up to a sow and three cubs breaking into his cabin. He ended up blasting all four, including a 250-pound bruin he shot from inches away as it pushed through his back door.

Web site: Municipal bear reporting

Bear sightings message board

Reader-submitted: Bear sightings

Garbage and gun spell death for black bear

Wildlife officials are reviewing what they call a questionable shooting of a black bear this week in a section of Muldoon with long-running problems involving garbage and bruins.

Reader-submitted: Bear sightings

Environmental group to sue EPA to protect polar bears

An environmental group said Wednesday that it plans to sue the federal government to stop approving pesticides that end up in food eaten by polar bears.

Black bear killed near airport

A black bear was killed Monday morning after Anchorage international airport personnel weren't able to get it to leave the Lake Hood area, according to an airport biologist.

Juneau center draws bears as well as humans

When U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito visited in May, he was lucky enough to see a black bear up a tree in the parking lot at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center.

State reopens Turnagain Arm path closed by bear activity

Chugach State Park officials say the portion of the Indian-to-Girdwood bike trail, which parallels the Seward Highway south of Anchorage, is open again because there has been no known aggressive brown bear behavior.

Trail closed for bear concerns reopened

The state has reopened a stretch of a popular trail closed earlier this month because of concerns of grizzly bear activity.

Bears prompt closure of trail near Bird Point

One, two, maybe three grizzly bears have prompted closure of a paved and increasingly popular bike trail along the Seward Highway near Bird Point.

Web site: Municipal bear reporting

Bear sightings message board

Reader-submitted: Bear sightings

Bear concerns close Rover's Run trail

Citing fears of a recurrence of bear-human encounters, the city has closed Rover's Run trail in Far North Bicentennial Park for the summer.

Bear concerns close trail for summer

Citing fears of a recurrence of bear-human encounters, the city has closed Rover's Run trail in Far North Bicentennial Park for the summer.

'Bear Man' prepares defense against state charges

Charlie Vandergaw has been coexisting with bears this way for the last 20 years, and he wants to be left alone. That is not likely to happen now that the state is using a beefed-up law to prosecute Vandergaw for feeding bears.

The Charlie Vandergaw story

Bear Haven man faces state game charges

After 20 years of enticing bears into a remote compound tucked away in a little visited corner of the Yentna River valley, retired Anchorage school teacher Charlie Vandergaw said last fall he was ready to end his bear-taming shenanigans.

PDF: Vandergaw charging document

Video: Animal Planet clips of Vandergaw and bears

Photo gallery: Vandergaw's bears

Fur flies over bears as summer brings them out

Spring is here and bears are emerging from their dens for the short stroll to Alaska's largest city. Some residents are putting out the NO VACANCY sign.

Photos: Urban bears

Reader-submitted: Bear sightings

More bear stories and photos