Dead Bear on Side of Road in North Bend

Have you ever seen a dead bear on the side of the road? I was  traveling back from Gig Harbor (visiting my kids & Grandkids last weekend)

And, I stopped for gas in North Bend. When I got back on Hwy 90, I noticed a dead bear on the side of the road. A full grown bear! I mean not 'grizzly size' but clearly adult size! It looked like a black bear.

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It made me so sad, I've been thinking about it ever since. I began to wonder just how often bears are wounded or killed by drivers in Washington. I discovered I'd just been lucky  it happens more often than I thought.

Be Bear Aware

While driving around wooded areas, there is always a chance a bear or a deer will be trying to make their way across a busy highway.

I guess issues with bears are quite common all over the state of Washington. There is a site for reporting issues.

If you enjoy the outdoors, its important to be "Bear Aware"

Bears are killed by hunters and by vehicles

We have only had 14 reported bear attacks and one fatality in Washington State, but with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife estimating a population of 20,000 to 25,000 black bears and grizzly bears gaining a foothold in the northeastern part of the state, bear attacks are a possibility.

Tips for staying safe in Bear Country

MAKE SOME NOISE: Travel in groups, talk to each other, and even clap from time to time. Bears generally don’t want to be near humans and, if they hear you coming, will usually retreat before you even see them.

LISTEN: It’s an old Army patrol trick that works well in bear country. Stop every few hundred yards, be quiet, and listen. Bears can be noisy foraging for food, and you may hear one or more of them some distance away if you do this, allowing you to avoid a bear encounter.

KNOW WHERE THE BEARS WILL BE: At this time of year, both black bears and grizzly bears are focused on getting as many calories into their bodies as possible. That’s why bears will gravitate towards berry patches (especially huckleberry patches), stream beds where spawning fish are present, or towards dead animals the bears may (or may not have) killed. Be hyper-aware of bears if you are in any of these areas.

BEAR SPRAY AND FIREARMS: Bear spray is an essential, non-lethal tool to have in bear country whether you are a hiker, hunter, bicyclist, or berry picker. A 2008 study by Dr. Tom Smith at Brigham Young University and several colleagues found bear spray was 92 percent effective in deterring bear attacks from brown, black, and polar bears in Alaska between 1985 and 2006.