The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center says a 2-year-old Kodiak brown bear went missing from its enclosure in a rural area south of Anchorage.
Executive director Mike Miller says the center's electric fence was turned off Tuesday for maintenance and something apparently spooked the 300-pound bear named Shaguyik.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game initially helped conduct aerial searches, but after a week of finding nothing, those efforts have been called off, said Jessy Coltrane, Fish and Game wildlife biologist.
AWCC staff and volunteers continue to search the mountains between the Placer and Portage valleys, where Shaguyik was last spotted.
"There's no reason to believe this bear is a public safety concern," said Coltrane.
Wildlife managers are more worried about the bear's well-being. Shaguyik, an orphan, has lived much of her life in captivity and may not have the skills to hunt or forage on her own.
AWCC spokesman Ethan Tyler said the center held off announcing the escape on the advice of Fish and Game in part to avoid congestion searching for the animal.
The center 40 miles south of Anchorage takes in injured and orphaned animals that can be viewed by visitors.
Anyone who sights a bear in the Portage Valley area should call the ADF&G at 907-267-2811, AWCC at 907-301-7942 or State Troopers at 911.
