A few weeks ago, there was a black bear sighted on campus. As with any safety issue, Police Services sent word of the animal’s presence via email to the campus community. It was an irresistibly delicious distraction. Here are some of the comments, cautions and reminiscences exchanged in honor of our distinguished guest:
- Are the black bears the ones we can hug, or is that the brown bears? I always get those confused…
- Maybe I should believe my 8 year old when he said he saw one yesterday on Simmons Road. I told him it was probably a big dog…oops.
- It is the time they come down to the rivers, streams and bays for salmon
- It’s also the season when dogs turn into bears, and deer into elk.
- This would explain the bear scat piles along the bike path here (McLane Trail)……..
- A bear hug is always nice; it’s the kiss of death that you have to watch out for!
Russ Fox :
In the late 1970’s and most of the 1980’s, there was a “summer resident” male black bear who used the TESC campus as his summer habitat. He was often seem browsing along the edge of the forest along the parkway between the campus entrance and Kaiser Road. In spring he meandered across lower Mud Bay from his winter habitat in the Black Hills across some of our lower Eld Inlet properties to his summer estate. In the fall, he retraced his trail back to the Black Hills. One year, he overturned and feasted on our neighbor’s bee hive. He never bothered our hives, although he also crossed our property to and from his winter and summer environments. It’s wonderful to hear that one of his (her?) offsrping is now once again enjoying our 1000 acre sanctuary.
Betty Kutter:
Thanks for this reminder of the “wild old days”, Russ — and then there was the time when Linda Kahan’s dogs treed cubs outside her house, just there by where Marshal jr high is now — a bit of excitement, but even that one ended peacefully …
Sylvie McGee:
I’m delighted to hear that the bear is perhaps using Evergreen’s campus as a comfortable sanctuary. Of course, I’m safely over here in Tumwater 😉
It might not be a bad idea for faculty to mention this to students, and to stress basic bear safety precautions, particularly about giving them a wide berth. For students from out of area, they may be unaware of how to co-exist safely and peacefully with bears, and the temptation to try to “get a closer look” or “get just one picture” can be powerful.
Rebecca Chamberlain:
Black bear attacks are extremely rare. They usually occur in the spring, when a mother is protecting her cubs. At this time of year, they are foraging for food, and fall salmon will be coming into the waterways. However, people might want to keep garbage cans closed, etc. Here’s a National Parks site, for those who want more information on backcountry bear safety. The same safety tips apply here, too. http://usparks.about.com/od/backcountry/a/Bear-Safety.htm
It’s thrilling to have a black bear back on the land. The original Lushootseed name, for area around the Fourth Avenue bridge, is bəsčətx̌ʷəd— the “place of the black bears.” The salmon came up through the portage, and black bears often congregated there. They were numerous in this area, not that long ago, and to have one back seems hopeful.
As Thoreau reminds us,
“In wildness is the preservation of the world.”
All the best in this beautiful fall season. To salmon, and bear, and “all our relations!”