Alaska Zoo Reopens After Wild Black Bear Forces Closure


The Alaska Zoo has reopened after having to temporarily close due to a wild black bear roaming on the property.

Those who planned on visiting the Alaska Zoo on Wednesday, July 22 were met with a sign that said “zoo temporarily closed – wild bear on grounds,” CBS affiliate KTV Alaska 11 reports.

According to Jill Myer, the development director with the Alaska Zoo, the bear apparently snuck into the zoo at some point during the night and made a temporary home in one of the trees. One of the zoo’s nightwatchmen noticed their visitor, who appeared to be around 2-years-old, at approximately 6:30 on Wednesday morning.

The zoo contacted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, who later arrived and planned on waiting to see if the bear would leave safely on its own. In the meantime, the zoo’s staff herded the other animals, including the tigers and wolves, into their dens until the bear left. Other news sites originally reported that an evacuation took place, however, the zoo said no evacuation was necessary and those reports were false.

“The tigers were very excited about the new resident,” Jill Myer said, according to the Alaska Dispatch News. “They were actually put into their nighttime dens. And the wolves were very curious. A couple of the wolves were like ‘no’ and it took a while to get them in.”

The bear eventually came down from the tree and left the zoo’s grounds.

“The bear has left the zoo,” Pat Lampi, the zoo’s executive director, said. “The bear came down out of the tree and it’s out of the zoo and back in the wild. We had staff, in teams, come from different directions, leaving it an open trail to a back gate where we had a person stationed in a truck so they could close the gate.”

At approximately 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon, the zoo reopened and issued a statement explaining their closure on their Facebook page.

“The Zoo is now open!

“We had a wild visitor this morning. A small black bear arrived on grounds in the early morning hours preventing the Zoo from opening on time, an evacuation was not necessary. Early reports of an evacuation were inaccurate.

“Sorry for the delay in posting information on this as we were working with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to help the bear find it’s way safely out of the Zoo. Everyone and all animals are safe and sound, thank you for all of your questions and concerns.”

Myer recalled a similar incident that happened years before. She said another black bear kept sneaking in, so they eventually just made him a home there.

What do you think about the Alaska Zoo’s unexpected visitor? Leave your comments below.

[Photo via Shutterstock]

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