Polar bear in fatal Alaska attack was in poor health
Polar bear in fatal Alaska attack was in poor health
A walkway leading into the school in Wales, Alaska, where a 24-year-old woman and her 1-year-old son were killed in an encounter with a polar bear, Jan. 17, 2023. (Chrissy Friberg via AP, File)
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -
A polar bear that killed a young mother and her baby last month in western Alaska was likely an older animal in poor physical condition, but tests came back negative for pathogens that affect the brain and cause aggressive behavior, officials said Monday.
Dr. Kimberlee Beckmen, a state wildlife veterinarian, collected and examined samples from the bear's head the day after the attack, when weather conditions allowed her and an Alaska State Trooper to fly to the village.
The results of her analysis, which were released Monday but initially were dated Feb. 3, indicate the bear was an adult male, probably older and in poor physical health. Officials sent a tooth to a lab to determine the bear's age, but those results won't be known for months.
Standard tests conducted on available tissues for pathogens were negative for rabies, toxoplasmosis, distemper and avian influenza.
"There is no definitive explanation as to why the bear was in poor body condition," the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a joint statement.
Summer Myomick and her 1-year-old son, Clyde Ongtowasruk, were mauled to death Jan. 17 as they left the school in Wales, Alaska, for a short walk of about 150 yards (137 metres) to the town's medical clinic.
School employees attempted to stop the attack by hitting the bear with shovels, but it turned on them and chased as they went back inside for safety. The principal slammed the door to keep the bear out of the school, which was in session.
A village resident later arrived with a gun and killed the animal.
It was the first fatal polar bear attack in Alaska in three decades.
Polar bears are the largest bear species, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Males typically weigh 600 to 1,200 pounds (270 to 540 kilograms) but can be more than 1,700 pounds (770 kilograms) and reach up to 10 feet (3 metres) in length. Females weigh 400 to 700 pounds (180 to 320 kilograms). Polar bears generally feed on seals but also prey on walruses and beluga whales.
They were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2008 and are also protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Both laws prohibit harming the bears without authorization unless necessary for human safety.
Wales, a whaling village of about 160 people, is located about 640 miles (1,300 kilometres) northwest of Anchorage and is accessible by plane or boat.
Cape Breton University has more than doubled in size by enrolling thousands of international students, and critics say the campus and community weren't ready. Watch the documentary 'Cash Cow' on CTV W5, Saturday at 7 p.m.
In a choice forced upon them by the Canadian government, four mothers have made the agonizing decision to forfeit an opportunity to repatriate their children from open air prisons in northeast Syria.
Statistics Canada has released its new report about the Canadians level of confidence in Canada’s institutions, finding that recent immigrants are more likely to express confidence in the media and parliament.
A new Canadian study of 4.8 million people says a daily alcoholic drink isn't likely to send anyone to an early grave, nor will it offer any of the health benefits touted by previous studies, even if it is organic red wine.
Lawyers representing Toronto MP Han Dong served Global News with a libel notice on Friday over reports that alleged he spoke to a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 about delaying the release of the two Michaels, and that he was a 'witting affiliate' of Chinese interference networks – allegations that Dong denies.
A recent report from Royal LePage is predicting a drop in prices for Canadian cabins and cottages this year as demand softens from economic uncertainty and low housing stock.
Interim RCMP commissioner Michael Duheme says he would support the Criminal Code changes recommended in the Mass Casualty Commission report to implement stricter gun laws.
Cape Breton University has more than doubled in size by enrolling thousands of international students, and critics say the campus and community weren't ready. Watch the documentary 'Cash Cow' on CTV W5, Saturday at 7 p.m.
Authors of the final report into Nova Scotia’s April 2020 mass shooting said gender-based violence is an epidemic in Nova Scotia and across Canada, and it requires a society-wide response.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
Canada needs standardized data on violence on transit systems to help tackle issues ranging from a lack of mental health supports to eroding public trust, say researchers, citing the recent stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy at a Toronto station as the latest example of random attacks on commuters.
Kevin Garinger says it feels like the passage of time is inexplicable. The five years since a deadly bus crash changed his city, his hockey team and his life sometimes feel like a lifetime. Other times it feels like yesterday.
Thousands of people rallied across the country Friday as part of a Transgender Day of Visibility in support of the rights of transgender people and their resilience amid what many denounced as an increasingly hostile environment.
Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday travelled down a dirt road to tour a farm outside Zambia's capital that's using new techniques and technology to boost its vegetable crop as she highlighted ways to secure food supplies in an age of global warming.
Thirty-six bodies have been found inside a well at a Hindu temple in central India after dozens of people attending a festival fell into the muddy water when its cover collapsed, officials said Friday.
A special military investigative team is on the scene of a deadly crash involving two Black Hawk helicopters that killed nine people in southwestern Kentucky, but weather conditions have slowed the early work, Army officials said.
Andrew Tate, the divisive internet personality who has spent months in a Romanian jail on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking, has won an appeal to replace his detention with house arrest, an official said Friday.
A woman pulled alive from the rubble of a Pennsylvania chocolate factory after an explosion that killed seven co-workers says flames had engulfed the building, and her arm, when the floor gave way beneath her. That might have been the end, if she hadn't fallen into a vat of liquid chocolate.
This year's budget reveals the federal Liberals envision Canada relying more on its allies for trade in the future, economists and geopolitical experts say -- even if that could result in higher prices or missed opportunities.
The Liberal government left employment insurance reform out of the federal budget this week over concern that reforming the program amid a slowing economy could drive up premiums for workers and employers.
Lawyers representing Toronto MP Han Dong served Global News with a libel notice on Friday over reports that alleged he spoke to a Chinese diplomat in February 2021 about delaying the release of the two Michaels, and that he was a 'witting affiliate' of Chinese interference networks – allegations that Dong denies.
A new Canadian study of 4.8 million people says a daily alcoholic drink isn't likely to send anyone to an early grave, nor will it offer any of the health benefits touted by previous studies, even if it is organic red wine.
The federal government now expects far more Canadians with long-overdue dental needs to sign up for its insurance plan, and the health minister says that's why the estimated cost has risen by $7 billion.
The B.C. government's bid to restrict the sale of diabetes drug Ozempic to prevent non-Canadian residents draining supplies was the right move and a long time coming, says Brett Skinner, founder and CEO of the Canadian Health Policy Institute.
Italy is temporarily blocking the artificial intelligence software ChatGPT in the wake of a data breach as it investigates a possible violation of stringent European Union data protection rules, the government's privacy watchdog said Friday.
New research suggests the classic image of a Tyrannosaurus rex with massive, sharp teeth might be wrong. A study in the journal Science suggests the teeth on a T. rex was likely covered by scaly lips and didn't stick out when its mouth was closed.
After the first season of “The Last of Us” generated big buzz and an economic boom for Alberta, British Columbia may be next in line to host the production team.
A Florida teenager has documented how it feels to be young and transgender for a film set to debut at a festival as transgender people around the world celebrate visibility and lawmakers across the country look to restrict their rights and care.
Gwyneth Paltrow 's motivation to go to trial to fight a lawsuit accusing her of sending a fellow skier “absolutely flying” at a posh Utah ski resort in 2016 was about vindication. She got it when a jury found her not at fault in the collision, granting her exactly the $1 she sought in her countersuit
Under intense scrutiny from Washington that could lead to a potential ban, the top attorney for TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance defended the social media platform's plan to safeguard U.S. user data from China.
A 2018 Twitter post by Tesla CEO Elon Musk unlawfully threatened Tesla employees with the loss of stock options if they decided to be represented by a union, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.
Statistics Canada has released its new report about the Canadians level of confidence in Canada’s institutions, finding that recent immigrants are more likely to express confidence in the media and parliament.
Vogue Philippines has revealed Apo Whang-Od as the cover star of its April issue, a move that makes the 106-year-old tattoo artist from the Philippines the oldest person ever to appear on the front of Vogue.
With just five weeks before King Charles III's coronation, a British manufacturer of fine bone china is busy making 'God Save The King' commemorative plates and mugs for the historic occasion.
Daniil Medvedev hasn't won a title in the United States since capturing the 2021 U.S. Open, when he turned away Novak Djokovic's bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam.
CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani and former Canada Soccer president Nick Bontis defended Canada Soccer's controversial deal with Canadian Soccer Business on Thursday, telling a parliamentary committee that the contract provided the governing body with more guaranteed revenue that it had received previously.
Holding a sprint race on a street circuit at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is a "ludicrous" proposition which will cost Formula One teams when they "trash" their cars, Red Bull boss Christian Horner said.
Formula One officials confirmed on Friday that teams can no longer touch their cars with jacks during penalty pitstops in the wake of the Fernando Alonso controversy at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Red Bull principal Christian Horner has criticized the stricter interpretation of a rule that bans Formula One team employees from climbing pit wall for victory celebrations.
A walkway leading into the school in Wales, Alaska, where a 24-year-old woman and her 1-year-old son were killed in an encounter with a polar bear, Jan. 17, 2023. (Chrissy Friberg via AP, File)
