Law enforcement euthanized two bears in Sitka last week, and attempted to shoot a third early Friday (6-5-26) morning.
Sitka Police Chief Mike Hall said the two bears from a family of four were killed after they made a meal of livestock in the Shotgun Alley neighborhood.
Hall said residents reported screaming livestock on Cedar Beach Road at 3:45 a.m. on May 29. Police began searching for the family over the weekend as the bears continued to kill livestock and damage enclosures at various residences.
On May 31, police officers spotted a male bear by the church on Shotgun Alley while on patrol. It was shot and killed while breaking into a chicken coop, according to Sitka Area Biologist Steve Bethune, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Hall said U.S. Forest Service law enforcement dispatched one of the cubs the following morning on Sawmill Creek Road.
Bear sightings in the area continued throughout the following week, and on Friday morning, police responded to a bear call at 4:41 a.m. on Sawmill Creek Road. Police shot at the bear as it ran toward tree cover. Hall said they were unable to locate it among the thick brush and it’s unclear if the bear was successfully removed.
For Sitkans with livestock, Hall said to make sure animal feed or waste is properly disposed of. Bethune said residents need to have electric fences around their farm animals.
Bethune said these were the first dispatches of the year. Sitka police are still searching for the sow and second cub.
