Olympian file
This bear, spotted in July in the Labor and Industries parking lot, is still at large.

Black bear still on lam; others turn up

CHESTER ALLEN, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published September 10, 2001

TUMWATER -- The black bear that patrolled Interstate 5 in Tumwater during late July is still on the lam, but some of his cousins are showing up in rural Tumwater neighborhoods.

An anonymous caller reported a black bear ambling across Black Lake Boulevard near Jones Quarry on Friday.

State Department of Fish and Wildlife officers trapped a black bear near 88th Avenue in June.

And a black bear was spotted near Black Lake Elementary School during the spring.

Someone in the neighborhood spotted the bear, but no one at the school actually saw the animal, said Susan Haskin, Tumwater School District community relations director.

Who let the bears out?

Fish and Wildlife spokesman Craig Bartlett said biologists suspect bears are wandering into rural neighborhoods for these reasons:

- People are building homes in bear country.

"There is more development on the fringes of what has been bear and cougar country," Bartlett said.

- The drought has limited food supplies in the woods.

- A recent initiative that banned bear hunting with dogs has limited hunting pressure, leaving more animals to roam, Bartlett said.

Fish and Wildlife biologists looked for the Black Lake Boulevard bear on Friday, but the bear had left, Bartlett said.

Bears move around a lot this time of year, and rural neighborhoods have some attractive features, Bartlett said.

"Blackberries are in season," Bartlett said, "and there are a lot of garbage cans."

Each week, The Olympian revisits stories from the past. Are there people, places or events that you read about in The Olympian that you wonder about now? Call us at 360-754-5423.

The Olympian Copyright 2001

back to main Outdoors: Wildlife index