Quote:Man in Bear Costume Hassles Actual Bears in Alaska


By Alex Heigl @alex_heigl

08/14/2015 AT 11:15 AM EDT
Police in Anchorage, Alaska, are searching for a man in a full-body, "fairly realistic" bear costume who was seen harassing several actual bears feeding on salmon in a river.

The Associated Press reported that "it wasn't immediately known what the man was trying to accomplish."

Alaska Fish and Game Assistant Area Management Biologist Mark Sogge told the AP that the incident occurred at a weir (an artificial obstruction placed in a river and used to trap or count fish) in the Chilkoot River, where a crowd had gathered to watch a bear and two cubs feed on the salmon.

The man, wearing a full-body bear costume, ran through the crowd, getting dangerously close to the cubs. A Fish and Game employee attempted to speak with the man, who refused to identify himself, telling the employee, "You have the license plate number. You figure it out," before driving off without bothering to remove the costume head.

Troopers are investigating, and the man could face wildlife harassment charges. Bizarrely, spokeswoman Megan Peters told the AP, "This is not the first time we've encountered a man in a bear suit."

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That would be the above incident, captured on the now-canceled Alaska State Troopers reality TV show, in which a man in a bear suit was filmed resisting arrest. He was later shown to have a pair of nunchaku concealed in his bear suit.

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