Oklahoma man pleads not guilty in mounted Alaska polar bear case

TULSA, Okla. — A businessman charged with illegally storing a mounted polar bear at an Oklahoma airport hangar has pleaded not guilty.

The Tulsa World reported that 62-year-old Bryan Adair has been charged with larceny of lost property, possession of an endangered species and possession of prohibited wildlife. Adair entered his plea on Friday and is free on bond.

Game wardens confiscated the stuffed bear from the Jones Riverside Airport in Tulsa on Aug. 4. The bear was legally hunted in 1969 in Alaska, and then brought to Oklahoma.

The hunter died decades ago and the bear was stored in his brother’s airport hangar. Oklahoma state Game Warden Carlos Gomez says the bear ended up in Adair’s hangar.

A criminal filing alleges Adair took the polar bear without the consent of the hunter’s wife, Nancy Gilstrap Barber.

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