A polar bear that killed a young mother and her baby last month in western Alaska was likely an older animal in poor physical condition.

For isolated communities at the top of the world, keeping the planet’s largest land predators -- polar bears -- out of town is key to coexistence.

A Wales resident shot and killed the bear. With the loss of sea ice and the ocean staying open later in the year, polar bears have been spending more time on land, which increases the chance of human encounters.

Wales lost shorefast ice early in the season. Ice along the shore has been crushed and broken. This is a very unusual event for Wales as many of our hunters rely on great ice conditions for whale and other sea mammal catch for food.