FAIRBANKS — Denali National Park officials plan to reopen an area of the park that had been closed because of a problem grizzly bear, which will be killed by park rangers once it is located.
Katheen Kelly, park spokeswoman, said the Mountain Vista and Savage Loop trails will reopen to the public Thursday. They will be available for use from 6 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported.
The Savage River area had been closed or restricted to limited use since July 1, when a bear bit and scratched a hiker along a trail. In June, the bear charged vehicles and obtained food from a daypack that a visitor threw to distract it.
“It’s the sub-adult grizzly in the Savage River Area who has not been acting like a bear should,” Kelly said. “He’s been charging cars and people,” Kelly said.
Rangers have tried to condition the bear to stay away from humans by shooting bean bags at it with a shotgun, but those efforts have been unsuccessful, Kelly said.
Kelly said park rangers are on the hunt for the bear and know its gait, paw prints and physical appearance. Bear traps have also been placed around the park.
“They will shoot to kill if they see him outside the traps,” Kelly said.
Park officials could not tell from the latest reports of bear activity — on July 15 and 17 — if they were about the same juvenile bear.
