Anchorage police Wednesday morning were warning Hillside residents that a brown bear was shot and wounded after it raided a chicken coop in Alaska's largest city. It's the second time since Saturday a bear has been shot in an Alaska town for going after chickens.
The latest incident happened just after 2 a.m. Wednesday when police received a call that a Hillside resident had found a bear messing with his chicken coop and had shot it with a 12-gage shotgun.
Police arrived on the scene and started following a blood trail in the area of Floral and DeArmoun, according to Anchorage police spokesman Lt. Dave Parker. Police followed the bear with several K-9 units but lost the trail around 4:20 a.m.
At about 6 a.m., police issued a notice on Twitter warning kids walking to school and joggers in the area that a wounded bear may be in the area:
Caution advised Hillside & DeArmoun area wounded brown bear in the area. Concern for children enroute school and joggers/walkers.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is expected to continue the search for the animal Wednesday, Parker said.
Bears facing the long Alaska winter have made news in recent days across the state.
In Kodiak, a brown bear was shot Saturday after raiding a chicken coop.
Also on Saturday, a big black bear in Ketchikan got trapped in the entryway of a house, then "freaked out" and caused some $1,000 in damages. Alaska State Troopers got the bear to leave the home without having to kill it.