While Northwest Arctic residents encounter bears year-round, such sightings are not common in Kotzebue this time of year, Cantine said. Charlie Henry Jr., an Elder from Kotzebue, agreed: “That is so strange — brown bear in the middle part of the coldest months.”
Earlier on Monday, Maniilaq Association notified Kotzebue residents about the musk ox in a Facebook post, saying that the animal was “roaming around the Kotzebue area, last sighted near ‘old’ teacher housing on the lagoon.” Health officials asked residents to not approach or agitate the animal and to keep their dogs under control.
The man suffered four scratches to the top of his head and near his right ear, and declined medical assistance.
Stand up paddle boarder near miss with humpback whale in Prince William Sound.
A Houston man was injured by a moose near his home, an unusual event linked to increased moose aggression due to harsh winter conditions.
A Wales resident shot and killed the bear. With the loss of sea ice and the ocean staying open later in the year, polar bears have been spending more time on land, which increases the chance of human encounters.
“The fact that an otter attacked a person was certainly surprising,” said a wildlife biologist with Fish and Game, who added that it’s hard to know what the motivation behind the otter’s “unusual behavior” was.
“Right now the people who have dogs in their yards are very concerned. This is happening at night when it’s dark, so everybody is on edge.” - Tanana First Chief
Police confirm no further polar bear sightings in Kuujjuaq following the shooting of a young bear in the town center, with ongoing vigilance for potential wildlife threats.
Since November, six foxes and three dogs in Nunavut have been found to be infected with rabies. Wednesday’s fox attack brings the total to seven foxes and five dogs with likely rabies infections.
She was then driven immediately to the hospital, where she got treatment for a potential rabies infection. Over the past month, there has been an increase in fox sightings and cases of rabies in foxes in the communities of Igloolik and Iqaluit. A fox was confirmed to have rabies in Igloolik on Dec. 14, while two foxes have been reported to have rabies in Iqaluit over the past five weeks.
Because of the risk to public safety, efforts will be made to locate this group of river otters and remove them, Fish and Game said.
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