Wildlife

Sitka police kill 2 bears that entered shed and scratched mobile home

SITKA — Sitka police on Tuesday killed two brown bears that entered a shed and menaced a home.

The Daily Sitka Sentinel reports police just before 3 a.m. took a call about the bears from a resident at a mobile home court.

The caller said a sow and a cub were eating a deer he had hung in a shed.

The man called again soon afterward saying the bears were scratching on his house.

Two officers unsuccessfully tried scaring the bears off with their patrol car's lights and siren and non-lethal "hazing rounds."

After concluding that the bears could be killed under state law provisions for defense of life and property, the officers used a large-caliber hunting rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun to kill both bears in an area away from homes.

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