It’s rare that a bear visits Kent. So when two of them bounced through town this week it caused, well, somewhat of an uproar.
City officials temporarily closed Clark Lake Park, 12520 SE 240th St., on Wednesday afternoon after a sighting of a black bear and a cub. Martin Sortun Elementary School, 21711 SE 248th St., went into a brief lockdown.
“We did go out but we didn’t see anything,” said Sgt. Kim Chandler, who helps track reports of bear sightings for the state Department of Fish & Wildlife.
Chandler said the state received a report of another sighting in Kent at about 4 a.m. Friday near Southeast 256th Street and 104th Avenue Southeast. No other reports were received since Wednesday.
State Wildlife officers responded on Wednesday to Kent because the bears were spotted near a school when children were present. But officers aren’t trying to track down the bears.
“They are not doing anything wrong,” said Chandler, who has worked 42 years with the state and handled thousands of bear reports.
An officer checked a neighborhood near Clark Lake Park and discovered numerous garbage cans that the bears had knocked over.
“It’s not a public safety issue,” he said. “It’s a nuisance. The garbage attracted it. Hopefully, he or she will realize their errors of ways and head south.”
The statewide black bear population in Washington likely ranges between 25,000 and 30,000 animals, so bear sightings are common in some areas. Chandler said he’s had numerous reports this year in the Woodinville and Redmond Ridge areas.
But Kent rarely shows up in the reports. A witness reported a bear sighting on May 23 near Lake Youngs, east of Kent, which might have been the same bear that ventured into town.
“It was spotted in a pasture,” Chandler said.”The Lake Youngs watershed is a perfect habitat. Whether or not it’s the same bear, it might have decided to take a trip. They can cover a lot of territory in short order.”
The bears, for the most part, are not dangerous to people.
“We’ve had about a thousand complaints or sightings over the last two or three years and not one was an aggressive bear,” Chandler said. “They are just cruising looking for handouts.”
Garbage cans and bird feeders can attract the bears, so if people have concerns they can clean out the feeders and make sure garbage isn’t exposed in any cans.
“With the warmer weather, they often take naps and come out in the early morning so they are not as visible,” Chandler said about potential sightings.
When Chandler checked Google maps for the Kent area, he noticed a lot of green belts, an area where bears like to go during their travels when they are not veering off to town.
People can call the state Department of Fish & Wildlife at 1-877-933-9847 to report wildlife complaints.
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