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Wearing the
realistic outfit, the man at one point came within 10 feet (3
meters) of the cubs during the strange and dangerous encounter
near Haines on Monday, said Carl Koch, an assistant area
biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
It was not clear what led the unidentified individual to put on
the costume, which included a head, and get close to the bears.
"As you can imagine, that's a really dangerous thing for the guy
to do," Koch said.
Spectators were standing at a safe distance and watching the
grizzly and her cubs at a weir, which is a barrier on a river,
Koch said. People often go to the location on the Chilkoot River
to see bears feeding on fish.
Suddenly, the man in the bear outfit appeared, startling some of
the spectators who feared he was a real predator, said Koch, who
did not know whether the costumed man was walking on all fours
or two feet.
A Fish and Game technician who was posted at the weir to count
fish immediately realized it was a man wearing a costume, Koch
said.
As the individual approached the cubs, Koch said, the technician
became concerned that the mother bear could feel her young were
threatened and might attack, so he yelled at the animals to get
them to move away.
The man in the bear costume got into a car and left without
explaining his actions, Koch said. The incident is under
investigation.
"Those bears see people all the time, but it's still a very
dangerous move," Koch said.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by Daniel
Wallis and Sandra Maler)
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