A Seattle woman spotted a bear while running through a trail inside Golden Gardens Park earlier this week.
A social media post in a Ballard Facebook group indicated that the bear was seen on a trail just below View Ave. N.W. The animal is likely a black bear.
Bear sighting in Ballard
While Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) representative Becky Elder claimed that black bears are common throughout Washington, she noted the Ballard sighting was a rarity, according to My Ballard.
Elder stated that bears can enter urban neighborhoods in search of food. Oftentimes, this occurs in the spring and summer months when a bear needs to regain the calories lost during winter hibernation.
“Bears are looking for natural food sources like berries, but they’re often drawn into urban areas by the smell of garbage, pet food, birdseed, or fallen fruit,” Elder wrote to My Ballard in an email. “Once they discover a reliable human-related food source, they tend to return — and may lose their natural fear of humans.”
Another Ballard bear sighting was recorded in 2009, when a black bear entered residents’ yards and hid in trees. WDFW officials tracked the bear through the neighborhood, but it disappeared before it could be relocated.
The WDFW mentioned that removing food or garbage from outside a home can be effective for preventing bear encounters.
WDFW made the following recommendations to avoid bear sightings:
Keep garbage secured indoors until the day of pickups
Bring pet food inside
Never feed bears or other wildlife
Clean up fallen fruit and thoroughly clean grills
Remove bird feeders until late fall
Use electric fencing for livestock and poultry
If a bear is spotted, do not run or attempt to climb trees. Instead, make yourself appear large by raising your arms and spreading your legs.
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