http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/593298.htmlPublished September 23, 2008
Black bear killed after causing stir in Lacey
Jeremy Pawloski
Fish and Wildlife officers shot and killed a 300-pound black bear Monday, after it climbed a 30-foot oak tree outside the Spring Air Mattress factory at Willamette Drive and Commerce Street.
The officers said there was no way they could save the bear.
Relocating the bear was not an option because of the public safety risk and the impracticality of leaving a tranquilized 300-pound bear in the wild during hunting season, Fish and Wildlife spokesman Craig Bartlett said.
"It's always dicey relocating an animal," Bartlett said. "...There was no effective way to deal with this bear other than take him down."
A Fish and Wildlife officer used a lethal dart that inhibits the bear's respiratory system, Bartlett said.
Lacey police officer Bob Lyon said officers started getting calls about the bear wandering around the industrial area where the factory is located about 7:30 a.m. Monday. Later, a Spring Air truck driver called to say the bear had climbed the tree.
Lyon said the bear was "wide awake," huffing down at the crowd of Fish and Wildlife officers that had gathered around him.
"He was not happy that people were there," Lyon said.
Wade Jones, plant manager for the Spring Air factory, said that after the truck driver saw the bear, all employees were kept inside as Fish and Wildlife officers shot and removed him.
Shipping activities were put on hold for about four hours, Jones said, adding he had never heard of a bear sighting around the area.
Encounters between bears and people are becoming more common in Washington as development encroaches on forests, Bartlett said.
"It's a situation that gets played out in communities throughout the state," Bartlett said. "The chances for bears and people to cross paths are increasing because of that."
Over the years, Fish and Wildlife officers have had to deal with bears on the loose in downtown Tacoma and near the University of Washington campus in Seattle, to name a few, Bartlett said.
Two bears were killed last year within days in Thurston County.
One was put down May 31, 2007, near Evergreen Forest Elementary School in Lacey. Because the bear had been hit by a car and was near a school, it was killed.
Two days earlier, a Yelm police officer shot and killed a black bear in the Briar Street area after it climbed down a tree and began running toward homes.
Bartlett said in the most-recent bear shooting, the bear might have been hungry.
"They're always looking for food," Bartlett said.
The Spring Air insignia used on the trucks at the factory includes an image of a bear, Jones said, adding he didn't realize the treed bear had been killed.
Jeremy Pawloski covers public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jpawloski@theolympian.com.
