Wildlife officer: Elusive Everett bears still out there
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, May 2, 2017
EVERETT — A few bears that have been seen wandering around southeast Everett are still out there, apparently.
There are probably two or three bears that are wandering around the greenbelts east of I-5, said Officer Nicholas Jorg with the state Department of Fish &Wildlife.
Efforts to trap and remove them have been unsuccessful, largely because loose dogs eat the bait and get their scent all over the traps.
“They’re urinating all over the traps trying to mark and defend the territory from other dogs,” Jorg said. “If folks would follow the leash laws…”
People should lock up their garbage and make sure there aren’t any bird feeders or pet food outdoors to attract the bears. Once bears grow accustomed to a food source, they’ll keep coming back, Jorg said.
Bear sightings are commonplace in the spring, when they emerge from hibernation and go search for food.
That’s to be expected, but sometimes bears wander down the Snohomish River valley into more urban areas.
“There’s hundreds and hundreds of areas of green space and riparian corridor there that is great bear habitat,” Jorg said. “Every year there’s bears in there.”
In the last couple weeks, there have been several black bear sightings within Everett city limits, mostly around the Lowell and other southeastern parts of the city where steep hills and thick trees form a lush area for them to hide.
Fish &Wildlife officers use Karelian bear dogs to aid in trapping bears, setting boundaries and breaking food training. Jorg’s canine partner, Colter, has saved hundreds of bears from having to be euthanized, he said.
Colter’s also helped capture a few mountain lions. “And caught a few poachers, too,” Jorg said.
So far, the Everett bears have been hiding and mostly avoiding behaviors that give wildlife officers worries.
“The worst thing they’ve done is get into somebody’s bird feeders,” Jorg said. “We’d like to get those out of there, frankly, before the bears get hurt, or they get trained by a food source.”
Chris Winters: 425-374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
