Who’s Been Sleeping In Our Park? Black Bear Dozing Near Riverfront Footbridge

A homeless man and his son awoke in Spokane’s Riverfront Park on Monday to find they weren’t the only ones sacked out in the shadow of the Clock Tower.

A 125-pound black bear also took refuge in the popular downtown park, snoozing on a brushy embankment just across the river from the Opera House and a few blocks from City Hall.

The discovery caused a stir as police, wildlife officials and fire crews roped off an area which two days before was swarming with children attending the park’s annual Kids’ Day.

Sgt. Ray Kahler of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said the bear may have been in the park for some time.

“He looks like he’s been around here for a while,” Kahler said. “He’s real docile. He doesn’t seem bothered by humans.”

Humans seemed plenty bothered by the bear.

The unidentified homeless man and his son spotted the animal about 6 a.m. At first, they thought it was a large dog, said Dick Cottam, police spokesman.

Upon closer inspection, they learned differently.

“The man saw it was a bear and told his son to call somebody, then they skedaddled,” Cottam said.

Animal control officers and police found the sleeping critter wedged against a retaining wall near the northern end of the King Cole footbridge.

The bear didn’t stir as onlookers gathered to see what was happening.

Wildlife agents and veterinarian Luther McConnell planned to tranquilize the animal but were afraid the dazed bear might stumble into the river and drown.

So a fire department boat was dispatched to the scene, just in case. It turned out the boat wasn’t necessary.

The 2-year-old bear barely flinched when a wildlife agent, using a long pole with a needle attached to one end, poked it in the rump with a dose of tranquilizer.

The bear walked a few feet, then passed out. Authorities dragged the animal to a waiting truck, clipped a tag to its ear and drove away.

The animal likely followed the river into town and somehow made it around the Post Street dam and into the park, Kahler said.

“This river is a natural corridor for animals,” said Kahler, who was reprimanded earlier this year after he ordered McConnell to kill a cougar on the South Hill, then lied to cover it up.

Several people reported seeing a bear roaming the river banks west of town last week, Fish and Wildlife spokeswoman Madonna Luers said.

Agents turned Monday’s bear loose in the Little Pend Oreille Wildlife Refuge, which straddles the Pend Oreille-Stevens county line about 1-1/2 hours north of Spokane.

A department biologist watched the bear wake up and wander away, Luers said. The animal seemed OK, she added.

“He said it was alert and climbing over rocks and logs, doing the things that bears do,” Luers said.

Wildlife officials hope the animal spends a couple of days in the refuge before venturing out in the surrounding national forest.

It’s bear-hunting season in Washington, and they don’t want someone to kill the animal and eat it while it’s still full of tranquilizers.

“If you kill a bear in that vicinity, and it has a metal tag in its ear, contact the Department of Fish and Wildlife,” Luers said. “The drugs usually only stay in their system for a couple of days, but we don’t want to take any chances.”

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