Polar bear.Photo: Getty
A polar bear has been shot dead after it killed a woman and young boy Tuesday afternoon in Alaska.
“Initial reports indicate that a polar bear had entered the community and had chased multiple residents,” the report stated. “The bear fatally attacked an adult female and juvenile male.”
The victims have not been publicly identified, the agency said, adding that next-of-kin notifications are “still in progress.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Polar bear.Getty
“Troopers and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are working to travel to Wales as weather conditions allow,” DPS officials said.
Wales, a remote town of approximately 150 people, is located on the Seward Peninsula and is the westernmost point of the U.S. mainland, abutting the Bering Strait.
Experts believe that receding ice in the area may be to blame for the bear’s interaction with the town, per theAnchorage Daily News.
“Over the past few decades, it’s been very, very rare for those types of attacks to occur,” Jessup McDermott,Alaska Nannut Co-Management Councilexecutive director, told the outlet. “It’s incredibly tragic it happened.”
RELATED VIDEO: “Predatory” Black Bears Kill Two People Within Two Days in Alaska Wilderness
A 2017study on polar-bear attacksfound they were more likely to happen during the months of July through December, when ice covers the least amount of area.
In addition, the bears arelisted as a threatened speciesunder the Endangered Species Act due to the “current and predicted future declines” of sea ice, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
“Thinner ice and longer ice-free periods in summer may reduce the length of time polar bears have to hunt, and result in population declines,” per the agency’s website.
source: people.com
