A polar bear that killed a younger mom and her child final month in Northwest Alaska was doubtless an older animal in poor bodily situation, however assessments got here again unfavorable for pathogens that have an effect on the mind and trigger aggressive habits, officers stated.
Dr. Kimberlee Beckmen, a state wildlife veterinarian, collected and examined samples from the bear’s head the day after the assault within the village of Wales, when climate circumstances allowed her and an Alaska State Trooper to fly to the neighborhood.
The outcomes of her evaluation, which had been launched Friday, point out the bear was an grownup male, most likely older and in poor bodily well being. Officers despatched a tooth to a lab to find out the bear’s age, however these outcomes gained’t be recognized for months.
Commonplace assessments carried out on accessible tissues for pathogens had been unfavorable for rabies, toxoplasmosis, distemper and avian influenza.
“There isn’t any definitive clarification as to why the bear was in poor physique situation,” the Alaska Division of Fish and Recreation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service stated in a joint assertion.
Summer time Myomick and her 1-year-old son, Clyde Ongtowasruk, had been mauled to loss of life Jan. 17 as they left the varsity in Wales for a brief stroll of about 150 yards to the city’s medical clinic.
[Rare attack in Northwest Alaska renews interest in polar bear patrols]
College workers tried to cease the assault by hitting the bear with shovels, nevertheless it turned on them and chased as they went again inside for security. The principal slammed the door to maintain the bear out of the varsity, which was in session.
A village resident later arrived with a gun and killed the animal.
It was the primary deadly polar bear assault in Alaska in three a long time.
Polar bears are the most important bear species, in line with the Fish and Wildlife Service. Males usually weigh 600 to 1,200 kilos however will be greater than 1,700 kilos and attain as much as 10 toes in size. Females weigh 400 to 700 kilos. Polar bears typically feed on seals but in addition prey on walruses and beluga whales.
They had been listed as threatened below the Endangered Species Act in 2008 and are additionally protected below the Marine Mammal Safety Act. Each legal guidelines prohibit harming the bears with out authorization until mandatory for human security.