By Dennis Box

The Courier-Herald

A bear was sighted in the west Lake Tapps area last week, causing a stir in neighborhoods and nearby schools.

According to Department of Fish and Wildlife officer Justin Maschhoff, a woman living near Crestwood Elementary saw the black bear in the late morning hours of May 31.

A second sighting occurred Thursday when a United Parcel Service driver saw what Maschhoff believed to be the same bear on Forest Canyon Drive near Forest Canyon Coffee.

According to Sumner School District spokesman Ann Cook, after the May 31 sighting, students at Crestwood Elementary were kept inside during recess periods and at Lakeridge Middle School security personnel searched the surrounding area for the bear.

Maschhoff said he saw the bear standing in a driveway in the area of 33rd Street Court East and West Tapps Drive East.

&#8220I honked my horn and chased him and tried to drive him up a tree,” Maschhoff said. &#8220He ran off into the woods.”

Maschhoff said the bear was about 150 to 200 pounds and probably a male that was pushed out by a larger male or &#8220pushed out of the nest by his mother.”

The wildlife officer said a trap has been set for the animal.

&#8220This is the time of year bears become more active,” Maschhoff said. &#8220This bear still exhibits a healthy fear of people, which is good.”

Maschhoff said if residents see a bear they should make noise and make it feel uncomfortable and call the Washington State Patrol to report the sighting at 253-536-6210. The trooper on duty will call the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

&#8220We want to keep tabs on the bear,” Maschhoff said. &#8220We intend to trap him and relocate him.”

Some of the basic precautions the department suggests to keep from attracting bears are bringing in garbage cans, do not leave dog food outside, keep compost covered and do not put food scrapes in compost.

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com.

Bear Facts from the

Department of Fish

and Wildlife

€ Common names

Black bear, bruin

€ Scientific name

Ursus americanus

€ Size

Adults range from 5 to 6 feet long, and 2 to 3 feet tall at the shoulder

€ Weight

Adult males average 225 pounds, adult females average 130 pounds, and yearlings are typically 60 to 75 pounds.

€ Color

Black bears range in color from black, brown, cinnamon and reddish-blonde. They have a brown muzzle and often a blaze (small patch of white) on the breast. The profile of the face is straight or &#8220Roman,” not dished like a grizzly bear's.

€ Range and habitat

Black bears live in forested foothills and mountains. The best black bear habitat in the state is in western and northeastern Washington and the Blue Mountains of the southeast.

€ Abundance

More than 600,000 black bears reside in North America, of which at least 25,000 black bears are estimated to inhabit Washington.

€ Food

Black bears are omnivores, meaning they eat both plants and animals. Their diet consists of grasses; berries; nuts; tubers; wood fiber; insects; small mammals, including deer fawns and elk calves; eggs; honey; carrion (dead animals); fish; and occasionally livestock.

€ Habits

Black bears are primarily crepuscular (active at dawn and dusk) and solitary animals, except for sows (females) with cubs. Black bears may den from mid-October into April in tree cavities, hollow logs, beneath roots of down trees, and in rock outcrops. Black bears are not true hibernators and may move from den to den in more mild winter climates. Some bears in coastal Washington may remain active throughout the winter.

€ Life span

Black bears may live 20 years or more in the wild and 30 years in captivity.

€ Breeding

Black bears normally breed for the first time at 3 to 5 years of age. Females have one litter every other year. The gestation period being 7 to 7.5 months and the breeding season runs from about mid-June through mid-July in Washington. All members of the bear family experience &#8220delayed implantation.” Females conceive during the summer, but development is delayed until mid-November or December, just two months before the cubs are born.

€ Young

Females normally give birth to two cubs. Cubs are born in the winter den during January or February. Newborns weigh less than a pound. Though weaned in August, cubs remain with their mothers for about 15 months.