Bear that was regularly fed by humans is shot, killed in Long Lake

PHOTOGRAPHER: The Associated Press

Authorities say a New York state environmental conservation officer has fatally shot a black bear in the Adirondacks because it had lost its fear of humans after being fed by them.

Department of Environmental Conservation spokesman Dave Winchell tells the Adirondack Daily Enterprise that the bear was killed Tuesday in the northern Hamilton County town of Long Lake after it had come within a few feet of a child last weekend.

Winchell says the bear was seen in the area numerous times over the last several months after its mother was killed. He says people had been feeding the young bear so frequently that it lost its fear of humans and was a threat to public safety.

Thirteen nuisance bears were killed in the Adirondacks this past summer.