No rabies or other aggression-causing diseases found in polar bear that killed mum and baby

No rabies or other aggression-causing diseases found in polar bear that killed mum and baby
A polar bear that killed a younger mom and her child final month in western Alaska was probably an older animal in poor bodily situation, officers say.

But they mentioned exams got here again unfavorable for pathogens that have an effect on the mind and trigger aggressive behaviour.

Dr Kimberlee Beckmen, a state wildlife veterinarian, collected and examined samples from the bear’s head the day after the assault, when climate circumstances allowed her and an Alaska State Trooper to fly to the village.

Male polar bears can weigh greater than 700kg. (Brian Battaile/US Geological Survey by way of AP, File) (AP)

The outcomes of her evaluation, which have been launched on Monday however initially have been dated February 3, point out the bear was an grownup male, most likely older and in poor bodily well being.

Officials despatched a tooth to a lab to find out the bear’s age, however these outcomes gained’t be recognized for months.

Standard exams carried out on accessible tissues for pathogens have been unfavorable 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 US Fish and Wildlife Service mentioned in a joint assertion.

Summer Myomick and her one-year-old son Clyde Ongtowasruk, have been mauled to loss of life on January 17 as they left the varsity in Wales, Alaska, for a brief stroll of about 150 metres to the city’s medical clinic.

Alaska school
It was solely a brief stroll between the medical centre and college the place the mom was attacked. (AP) (AP)

School staff tried to cease the assault by hitting the bear with shovels, but it surely turned on them and chased as they went again inside for security.

The principal slammed the door to maintain the bear out of the varsity, which was in session.

A village resident later arrived with a gun and killed the animal.

It was the primary deadly polar bear assault in Alaska in three a long time.

Wales is in a far-west isolated part of Alaska.
Wales is in a far-west remoted a part of Alaska. (AP) (AP)

Polar bears are the most important bear species, in response to the Fish and Wildlife Service. Males usually weigh 270 to 540 kilograms however will be greater than 770 kilograms and attain as much as 3 metres in size. Females weigh 180 to 320 kilograms.

Polar bears typically feed on seals but additionally prey on walruses and beluga whales.

They have been listed as threatened underneath the US Endangered Species Act in 2008 and are additionally protected underneath the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Both legal guidelines prohibit harming the bears with out authorisation until crucial for human security.

Wales, a whaling village of about 160 individuals, is positioned about 1300 kilometres north-west of Anchorage and is accessible by aircraft or boat.

Source: www.9news.com.au