Kodiak brown bear on the lam from refuge

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An Alaska wildlife center that takes in orphaned and injured animals is missing one of its larger residents.

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center announced Monday that a 300-pound, 2-year-old female Kodiak brown bear escaped six days ago from its enclosure near Portage. The bear had been destined for a zoo in Sweden in early summer.

The center is near Chugach National Forest land in the southernmost end of Anchorage, about 40 miles from downtown.

The bear was last seen last Tuesday night in mountains between the Portage and Placer valleys, the center said. A spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said the bear was not a public threat.

“It’s not like an escaped murderer has gotten loose,” said Jessy Coltrane, the area biologist for Anchorage. “It’s just a bear in the woods in an area where we have lots of other bears.”

The bear had been named Shaguyik, an Eskimo name for “ghost” or “shadow,” according to the center’s website.

It’s the first time the center has had an escape, said executive director Mike Miller.

“We had our electric fence turned off for maintenance, and during that time, something spooked Shaguyik,” Miller said in the announcement.

The bear climbed over the fence to escape, said center spokesman Ethan Tyler.

The bear was found on its own on Kodiak Island in December 2010 when most bears were denned up for the winter, according to the center’s website. She was flown to Anchorage for care. A veterinarian spayed her in November.

She carries a microchip but is not wearing a collar and has no identifying tags.