Black Bears in Our Midst - Be Safe
The City of Issaquah is very fortunate to have more than 25,500 acres of publicly owned and managed open space land as its “back-yard.” These open space lands are also home to a variety of wildlife species that includes black bears, cougars, deer, coyotes, raccoons, bald eagles, pileated woodpeckers, salmon and other smaller animals.
At this time of year, black bears are often seen in the City’s adjoining forested areas and neighborhoods. Blackberries, apples and other fruits are now ripe and are a favorite food of bears. Bird-feeders (bird seed) and refuse in trash receptacles are also an attractive source of food to bears. With these “easy” food sources, which are often found in our front and back-yards, bear encounters are to be expected.
To decrease bear encounters, it is important to remove these attractive sources of food. The City encourages residents to keep trash receptacles in your garage, if possible (not outside) and to place the trash receptacle curb-side on the morning of pick-ups. Additionally, remove bird-feeders and bird seed from your yards during the spring and summer months; only place feeders outside during the late fall and winter months when bears are hibernating and least active. To further reduce food sources, do not let apples and other fruit fall to or stay on the ground. Bears are drawn to people’s yards as this is such an easy and tasty source of food. Please keep these sources of food to a minimum, or not at all, and that will in turn reduce the number of bear encounters in our neighborhoods.
Black bears tend to avoid people when at all possible, but should you encounter a bear, the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) suggests this course of action:
- Stay calm and avoid direct eye contact, which could elicit a charge. Because bears are nearsighted, and if one has not caught your scent, it could mistake you for prey. Try to stay upwind and identify yourself as a human by standing up, waving your hands above your head and talking. The black bear will most likely leave you alone.
- Do not approach the bear, especially if cubs are around. Give the bear plenty of room and slowly back away. Leave the bear an escape route at all times. If you are too close, a bear may “bluff” charge, although it is highly unlikely the bear would touch you. Running away is not a wise decision as running may also stimulate the bear’s instinct to chase.
- If you cannot safely move away from the bear and the bear doesn’t flee, try to scare it away by aggressively clapping your hands, or yelling. Black bears can climb trees, so fleeing up a tree is not a safe option.
- In the unlikely event that a black bear attacks, fight back aggressively using your bare hands or with any object you can reach. As a last resort, protect yourself by curling into a ball or lying flat on the ground on your stomach and playing dead. Do not look up or move until you are certain the bear is gone.
To learn more about black bears in Washington, you may wish to contact the Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) – Region #4 (425) 775-1311 or Olympia Office (360) 902-2515.
|
