MARYSVILLE – When Mara Price missed her yoga class a few weeks ago, she had a good excuse.

There was a bear in her back yard.

At least six times in the last month, the bear has wandered through the north Marysville property, stopping to knock sunflower seeds out of birdfeeders.

“He just lies on the ground and licks it up,” Price said.

She and her husband have captured the visits with their cameras before chasing the animal back into the woods.

“The minute he stops running away, I guess we’ll get really concerned,” she said.

Black bears don’t usually bother people, said Randy Lambert, a sergeant with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

If the animals are given access to food – garbage or birdseed -the bears likely will become accustomed to people.

“They’re habituating the bear,” Lambert said. “That means it’s a dead bear at some point.”

Wildlife agents may kill bears if they’ve become accustomed to being around people, he said.

Laws in British Columbia allow authorities to cite people for leaving food in their back yards, Lambert said. He’s pushing for a similar law in Washington.

“It’s not that we’re being Big Brother, we’re trying to save the bears,” he said.

He’s not certain if the bear in Price’s back yard is the same animal that’s been spotted roaming the Centennial Trail, Arlington and near Allen Creek Elementary in Marysville.

While he hasn’t seen the bear himself, Lambert has seen photos and believes the bear is a juvenile, maybe 2 years old and weighing about 150 pounds.

Fish and Wildlife agents set a trap a couple of weeks ago near Allen Creek. No bear has been caught, possibly because he’s found a new food source in Price’s birdseed, Lambert said.

A birding enthusiast who volunteers for the Pilchuck Audubon Society, Price said she’s concerned about removing her feeders.

“The birds are feeding their babies right now,” she said.

That may be true, Lambert said, but birds have fed successfully on bugs for millennia.

“When you have a bear coming in your yard, take your bird feeders down for a week,” he said. “It won’t hurt the birds.”

Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.

Bear safety

Hungry bears can roam for miles looking for food. Humans pose a threat to bears by unintentionally making food available that can make the animals sick or expose them to other risks. Here’s how to stay safe and protect the bears:

* People should lock up trash, place bird food out of a bear’s reach and not place food in unprotected compost piles.

* Pets and livestock should be locked up and beehives and fruit trees fenced off.

* If you encounter a problem with a bear, call state Fish and Wildlife agents between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday to Friday, at 425-775-1311 or call 911.

More information is available from the state Department of Fish and Wildlife at http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/game/blkbear/dosdonts.htm.