Visitors Witness Bear Fight at Alaska Zoo

Summary:

ANCHORAGE, AK – A graphic video from the Alaska Zoo has spread widely on TikTok after capturing a larger brown bear attacking a smaller one as visitors, including children, watched.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, the injured bear suffered “moderate” wounds and is expected to survive. The zoo has temporarily shut its brown bear exhibit as officials examine the incident. The zoo had to use pepper spray to separate the bears and initiate safety protocols to separate them from each other following the incident.

Stephanie Samaniego, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told the Anchorage Daily News that the larger bear was Izzy, an orphaned brown bear from King Cove that was brought to the zoo years ago.

The smaller bear, a female, came from a wildlife center near Haines last year. Samaniego said she had not previously lived with other bears, and the zoo first housed her separately before moving her into the main habitat in September.

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