Wounded bear in neighborhood near Mendenhall Glacier being left alone for now by state officials

Days after another young bear was euthanized after being shot, animal spotted during past several days in victiny of Dredge Lake is ‘a watch-and-see situation’

A wounded bear in a front yard near Dredge Lake on the evening of Sunday, July 12, 2026. (Photo by Alice McNamara)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Another small wounded bear is roaming a Juneau neighborhood, but in this instance state wildlife officials are letting it be for the time being.

A few days after a young bear was shot downtown and subsequently euthanized by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game due to the extent of the animal’s injuries, reports of an injured bear roaming a residential area near the Mendenhall Glacier are being made to officials and in local social media posts.

Alice McNamara, who said she’s lived near Dredge Lake for about 50 years, shared a photo she took from her home at about 8:30 p.m. Sunday showing the bear with a large flesh wound to one of its rear legs. She said while she’s concerned about how the bear got hurt, and if there might be an infection or other risk to its health, officials who responded to the neighborhood in response to reports didn’t try to capture the animal.

"Apparently they found the bear in a tree and felt that it was OK not to do anything immediately since the bear was able to climb the tree," she said. "They felt like it might be OK."

Abby McAllister, a wildlife education and outreach specialist for the Department of Fish and Game, said Monday that "this is really just kind of a watch-and-see situation."

"Wildlife, they're really amazing in a lot of different ways," she said. "Mother Nature can be brutal, but wildlife can be really resilient and so right now what I can tell you is that biologists are just keeping an eye on this bear."

However, McAllister added in a subsequent text message, "if people do see the bear that is injured, give it plenty of space."

"Any wild animal can be unpredictable, and bears are no different," she wrote. "But that is especially true when the animal is also injured. We haven’t gotten reports that indicate this is the case in this scenario at all — but it’s always a good precaution."

Jenny Weisshaupt, who shared an observation of the bear on social media and contacted state officials Sunday night, said in an interview Monday she first saw the bear last Wednesday — and is certain it is the same bear since it also was injured at that time. She said at times it’s been in the company of another young-looking bear, indicating they might be siblings.

Weisshaupt said she hasn’t seen the bear acting aggressively or otherwise unusually because of its injury — and, as with state officials, she’s inclined to leave it alone.

"We have this instant reaction to haze a bear because with all the garbage problems — we're yelling and firing fireworks at these bears, and I recently have tried to start changing my own reaction to be more calm and gentle toward them," she said.

"In this scenario, especially, I think that my approach was much more calm. It didn't need to be hazed and yelled at. It's hurt."

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.