ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The lives of a black bear and four cubs that have been feasting on garbage in an Anchorage neighborhood will be spared after the governor on Saturday asked the state’s fish and game commissioner whether they could be moved rather than shot.
Garbage cans in the densely populated neighborhood of Government Hill aren’t sufficiently bear-proofed, The Alaska Dispatch News reported. Those opposed to killing the bears argued the animals shouldn’t be punished for taking advantage of an easy food source.
Gov. Bill Walker said he felt the bears had done nothing wrong and it was right thing to do.
“I’m sure there will be plenty of criticism about the governor getting involved in this,” Walker said. “But I’m a person too. I have a soft spot for individuals in circumstances not of their own making.”
State Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten says the governor didn’t tell his staff not to go ahead with the plan to kill the bears. He said Walker asked if there were alternatives.