100 years ago in Spokane: Bear cub escapes from Manito Park Zoo

From our archives, 100 years ago

A woman living near 21st Avenue and Bernard Street heard a scratching at her front door.

She assumed an acquaintance was trying to enter, so she opened the door. She was “horrified” to see a young cinnamon bear on her doorstep.

The bear was equally horrified, and scampered away through the brush toward 23rd Avenue.

As it turned out, this bear cub had just escaped from the Manito Park Zoo. The cub was apparently small enough to squeeze its head through the steel bars above its cage and wriggle all the way out.

The zoo foreman had discovered its absence soon after the escape and “organized a posse,” but the bear easily outran its pursuers.

After that, the bear was sighted by numerous neighbors south and west of Manito Park, including the woman who found the bear at her door. When last seen, the bear was spotted strolling leisurely toward Hangman Creek.

Toward evening, zoo authorities hired veteran bear hunter Tom Hopper to track the bear with his bear hounds. Hopper was planning to renew the search the next morning.

This cub had came to the zoo from Twisp, where it had been captured. The cub had tried to escape before, the first time being 15 minutes after arriving at the zoo.