Alaska Zoo: Confused Bear Strands Visitors Outside The Gate For Hours

Alaska Zoo closed down for a few hours last week when tourists visiting the zoo were met with the following words at the main gate.

“Zoo temporarily closed – wild bear on grounds. (Not one of our own)”

According to KTVA Alaska, a lonely bear wandered into the Alaska Zoo in the morning on Wednesday, July 22, 2015, prompting officials to close down the zoo for hours. The young bear, estimated to be 3-years-old, was found atop a tree by a night watchman while carrying out his final round of the premises.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153048168673589

In situations like these, the zoo authorities can either wait for experts to come and capture the wandering creature, or can shoot tranquilizing darts at the bear for it to become unconscious. However, for Alaska Zoo authorities, the situation was particularly tricky since the bear sat on top of a tree, which meant that if it was shot, it could fall down, hurting itself significantly in the process.

So the executive director of Alaska Zoo, Patrick Lampi, made the decision to contact the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, who arrived on the scene with a plan to get the bear safely out of the zoo. Speaking to Time, Patrick Lampi reiterated the importance of their decision not to deal with the wild bear without calling the experts.

“They [Alaska Department of Fish and Game] have a policy of not darting bears in trees because of the danger to the animal falling out of the tree even if you have nets. It is best to let the bear come down when it is ready.”

Time had the following to say, as well.

“This bear also, either before his jaunt through the Alaska Zoo or after, went to a neighbor’s house and tried to attack a horse – thankfully in a solid enclosure and shaken but not hurt, but in his quest for the horse, tore the canvas on the outside, so he was serious. If this is the same bear we’ve also had problems with it looking to people for food – so whoever has been feeding this bear because you though it was cool to get that close to a bear, this problem is on your shoulders.”

But Patrick Lampi discarded reports that the bear could have been dangerous, in fact arguing that they feared for the safety of the bear at one point.

“We wanted to keep that entire area of the zoo quiet so it would feel comfortable coming down. We recalled the Amur tigers into their dens so they would not scare the bear.”

This bear is not the first animal to have wandered into the Alaska Zoo. Officials confirmed some other animals who have wandered into the premises previously have been adopted by the Alaska Zoo, most famously a magpie named George, who is now so popular that he even has his own page on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/GeorgethetalkingMagpie/videos/vb.1543097929244704/1684150178472811/?type=2&theater

Maybe the young lonely bear came in search of some playmates, and in that case, Alaska Zoo would have done well to adopt it, too.

[Photo: Thomas Smith / KTVA Alaska footage]