Polar Bear Kills Woman, Toddler Boy In Alaska Town Before Being Shot Dead

A polar bear reportedly attacked and killed two people before being shot dead in Alaska on Tuesday, Jan. 17.

A polar bear reportedly entered the western Alaska town of Wales before it chased residents and attacked a woman, identified as Summer Myomick, 24, and her 1-year-old son, Clyde Ongtowasruk on Tuesday, Jan. 17. The mother and child were killed in the attack before the bear was finally shot dead by another resident, People reported.

"Initial reports indicate that a polar bear had entered the community and had chased multiple residents," the state Department of Public Safety wrote in its dispatch. "The bear fatally attacked an adult female and juvenile male – it was shot and killed by a local resident as it attacked the pair."

The attack was reported to Alaska state troopers at 2:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday, Jan. 17. Troopers and Alaska Department of Fish and Game personnel have been working to travel to Wales following the attack. However, they have been prevented by the poor weather conditions in the region.

“Poor weather conditions in the region and the lack of runway lights in Wales prevented Troopers and Alaska Department of Fish and Game personnel from making it to Wales,” Austin McDaniel, communications director for the Alaska Department of Public Safety said. “Troopers are continuing to make efforts to fly to Wales today.”

Wales is on the coast of western Alaska and has a total population of about 168 people, CNN reported.

According to a 2017 study published by The Wildlife Society, reports of polar bear attacks on humans are extremely rare. From the years 1870-2014, only 73 attacks by wild polar bears were reported. The attacks were distributed among the 5 polar bear Range States (Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States), and resulted in 20 human fatalities and 63 human injuries.

The melting of ice due to climate change has led to a corresponding change in bear behavior and made human encounters with bears more likely.

Residents of Churchill in northern Manitoba, Canada, sometimes called the “polar bear capital of the world,” stated that bear encounters were becoming more common. According to them, thousands of tourists are visiting Churchill each fall in hopes of catching a glimpse of a bear.

Bear season in the area peaks in October and November. This is just before Hudson Bay refreezes, and bears begin migrating north and congregating near the shore. In recent decades, the bear season has been lasting longer. This is mainly because of climate change. The ice is melting sooner and freezing later, keeping the bears on land longer.

The last bear attack on a human was recorded in 2013, and there hadn’t been a fatal attack since the early 1980s. A polar bear killed a man in the village of Point Lay, farther north of Wales, in 1990. However, biologists later said that the animal showed signs of starvation.