Alaska's last fatal polar bear attack was in Point Lay, 30 years ago, so it’s been hard for Wales to see the way forward — just as it was on Jan. 17, when whiteout conditions gave a bear a veil of invisibility to prowl about unnoticed until it struck.
Wales is the westernmost community in North America. It’s name in the Inupiat language is Kingigin, which means “high place.” It’s a reference to the large mountain next to the village.
Susan Nedza, the chief administrator for the Bering Strait School District, says it can be an unforgiving land.And this winter, even more so. “Each person responds to crisis differently,” Nedza said. “You’re fine one minute. You’re not the next.” The school now has a snowmachine to give teachers rides, and a fence is going up under the shop, an area where the bear was able to hide, before it emerged from under the building.
The community has also taken some practical steps to move beyond the bear. Volunteers are regularly on patrol to watch for the nannut, the Inupiaq word for polar bears. “It finally formed, maybe two or three inches in mid-January,” Oxereok said. “That’s very late for the area of Wales.” “Were your meals frequent enough to either, A, put on extra energy reserves, or do you have to dig into those reserves?” Gustine said. “So, this bear was in a place where it had to dip into those energy reserves over time, so there wasn’t any fat on, on his body.”
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