On Tuesday this week, a mother and her one-year-old son were attacked and killed by a polar bear.

The tragic event took place in the small isolated community of Wales in Alaska. In 2014, the population was estimated at 149 inhabitants.

according CNN the polar bear had entered the colony and started chasing the inhabitants.

The police in Alaska, called State Troopers, written in a statement that a local resident shot and killed the bear after the fatal attack on the mother and son.

– Camouflaged in the blizzard

Sky News writes that the mother and son were returning from the local school when the attack took place. They had to go to a dispensary 150 meters down the street.

The blizzard and poor visibility would have prevented the mother from seeing the polar bear coming, as it was “camouflaged by snow”, according to Alaska State Trooper spokesman Austin McDaniel.

Additionally, Sky News writes that people rushed into the school building when the bear was discovered.

The director reportedly lowered the blinds to prevent the children from witnessing the brutal attack outside.

Several adults would nevertheless have fled with shovels to try to scare the bear away.

– She was proud of the children

Now the victims have been identified as Summer Myomick, 24, and Clyde Ongtowasruk, one.

Friends of the victims have now launched a penny roll on the fundraising website GoFundMe.

“Summer was a devoted mother to her three-year-old daughter Avatia and one-year-old Clyde. She was kind and loved by all in the village of St. Michael – and her second home in Wales. C was an incredibly proud young mother of her two young children,” organizer Cynthia Hare wrote on the website.

She also says the money raised will help the Myomick and Ongtowasruk families through the tough times ahead.

“Baby Clyde was bubbling with life and was a great joy to us all. Summer is survived by her parents, three brothers and three sisters, her partner Clyde II and her daughter Avatia. Baby Clyde is survived by her father, Clyde II, her three-year-old sister Avatia and her grandparents.

sent for autopsy

According to the Alaska State Troopers, the attack should have taken place near the school in the city.

Furthermore, it is stated that the mother and son were taken to the state forensic pathology office for an autopsy.

Mamma Lisa’s farewell to Milo (2)

CNN writes that polar bear attacks are very rare. They refer to a 2017 study, published in The Wildlife Society:

– From 1870 to 2014, we have documented 73 wild polar bear attacks, spread across Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia and the United States. This left 20 dead and 63 injured.

Killed in Svalbard

As recently as 2020, Dutch citizen Johan Jacobus Kootte (38) was killed by a polar bear in the campsite outside Longyearbyen in Svalbard.

He was lying in his tent when the bear attacked him.

The polar bear was shot by people on the spot before heading to the nearby airport. The polar bear died of his injuries.

In 2011, a 17-year-old British boy was killed by a polar bear while on a school trip to the island. The teenager, like Kootte, was allegedly attacked in a tent.