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4 bears killed in Alaska campground reserved for homeless

Homeless Campground-Bears Killed
Posted at 10:26 AM, Jul 07, 2022
and last updated 2022-07-07 11:27:50-04

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Alaska wildlife officials have killed four black bears in a campground recently reserved for people in Anchorage who are homeless.

Employees from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game killed a sow and her two cubs and another adult bear.

They were reportedly stealing food from inside tents at Centennial Park.

The city last week closed its pandemic mass shelter, which had housed hundreds of homeless people throughout the last two years.

When the shelter closed, some people who are homeless moved to Centennial Park, grabbing the 84 available spots after the campground stopped taking reservations from the public.

A spokesperson for the city told CBS News that it does hour clean-up operations and provides bear-proof containers in an attempt to avoid run-ins with the animals.

Black bears are common in Alaska. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports that the state is home to approximately 100,000 black bears.