According to Haines Borough Police Chief Heath Scott, the department received 182 bear-related calls in 2019. That is more than double the number of bear-related calls they received the previous year. Said Fish and Game bear biologist Anthony Crupi, “With really low returns of pink salmon and coho salmon this year, bears are really searching out any opportunities they can find” .

This year has seen a dramatic increase in bear activity with bear-related calls up by 600%, according to police chief Heath Scott. As many as 22 bears have been shot in defense of property this year.

Two brown bears were killed in Haines last week, bringing the total killed outside hunting season in management unit 1D this year to 26. Bear calls to police have increased by about 600% compared to past years.

The bear tore through a chain link enclosure around midnight on November 4, and killed a 125-pound mixed-breed dog belonging to Georgiana Smith — who immediately informed her Indian River-area neighbors of the incident on the Sitka Bear Report Facebook page.