DNR kills nuisance bear in northern Minn.
by Rupa Shenoy, Minnesota Public RadioST. PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources says one of its officers shot and killed a bear wearing a research collar Thursday.
The black bear walked into the garage of a home in the Ely area where children were playing, according to DNR spokesman Chris Niskanen. The animal ignored the parents' attempts to scare it away.
DNR officers who responded to the scene also tried to scare the bear away. When that didn't work, Niskanen said an officer shot the bear.
"It's not our policy to tranquilize bears," said Niskanen. "Nuisance bears, when you tranquilize them and move them elsewhere, tend to become somebody else's problem. And they also tend to wander back into the areas where they were creating problems."
The bear appeared to have been habituated to humans through hand feeding, Niskanen said. He added that the animal was part of a study at the Wildlife Research Institute.
