Alaska Officials Kill Bear After Repeated Hospital Entries

A black bear entered the hospital at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage early Monday and ate Halloween candy from a donation bucket. Sherri Warnke, who was leaving after visiting her mother, encountered the bear in a dark hallway and had to back away because nearby doors required a badge to open; staff later helped her leave. Military officials said the bear was escorted out, but state wildlife biologists killed it after it returned to the hospital twice more that day. No one was injured and the bear caused no damage. The incident comes amid a rise in bear encounters in Alaska, with officials linking more than 20 bear killings this year to animals seeking food in urban areas, possibly after a poor berry crop.