Bear in HOUSE ! ! !

[Poundhound]

The Bellingham Herald had this story yesterday:


BLAINE — A black bear that spent the weekend digging through trash, tearing down bird feeders and even entering a woman’s home was shot and killed Saturday evening by state Fish and Wildlife officers.

Fish and Wildlife spokesman Dave Jones said four calls about the bear came in between Friday night and Saturday morning.

“It was leaving quite a trail, in an unusual area, which is very abnormal,” he said. “This bear was like Dennis the Menace, just getting into everything.”

The bear was seen on Loomis Trail Road on Friday, then near Giles Pond and at two houses on Valley View Road on Saturday.

Three officers responded to the report of the bear entering a house, but when they arrived, it had moved on, Jones said.

“It was difficult for those officers to find that bear,” Jones said. “It was popping up here, popping up there. It was out of its mind, going everywhere.”

A hunter with hound dogs assisted Fish and Wildlife officers in tracking down the bear. About 7 p.m., the bear was shot.

Jones said the male bear was about 3 years old, weighed 200 pounds and was in good health.

“I expected it to be old and sick or else young and stupid, with that behavior,” he said. “But this bear was in fine condition. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Jones said it isn’t common to kill a bear and that officers will generally try to move it, but the bear’s behavior made it a threat. It was in a strange area, it was being sighted repeatedly, and it showed no fear of humans or dogs.

“There’s no definitive black line about what to do. You just have to use common sense,” Jones said. “That brazen aggressiveness is rare.”

Jones said it’s not uncommon to see bears, and unless they are hanging around, getting into trash or acting aggressive, they generally don’t need to be reported.

Seven black bears have been trapped or tranquilized in Whatcom County in the past two years. This is the first bear that has been killed.



Reach Katie Regan at katie.regan@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2220.