Charging Bear Killed by Exxon Oil Cleanup Crew

A charging Alaska brown bear was shot and killed by an Exxon cleanup crew working to remove oil from park shorelines fouled by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the National Park Service reported Saturday.

State and federal agencies were investigating the shooting, Park Service spokesman John Quinley said. It is against the law to shoot bears in national parks except in self-defense.

Quinley said witnesses reported that the brown bear was shot Friday in Katmai National Park at a distance of 16 feet as the crew members tried to capture an eagle that had oil on it.