September 11, 2014 · Exit133

Black Bear Captured Near Puyallup Avenue & Dock Street in Tacoma

The black bear spotted in north Tacoma and Point Defiance over the last few days has been captured. Word on the street is that Fish and Wildlife caught up with the bear down near Puyallup Avenue and Dock Street.

The adult ~~male~~ female black bear will be relocated to a new home, probably somewhere in the Cascades or the Hood Canal area.

UPDATE: It sounds like she was spotted near Stadium High School last night, before taking a run down Pacific Avenue, where several peope reported seeing her.

From the Metro Parks press release:

This morning, Sept. 11, 2014, Ted Jackson with Fish and Wildlife reported that the bear had moved to Stadium High School and his officers were able to track it and dart it in an underpass close to the freeway.

The bear is currently sleeping off the tranquilizer dart in the Metro Parks parking lot.

5 comments

Name Ramsey September 12, 2014

Jack the Bear is back! He lived in the TACOMA HOTEL for years as a guest of the owners. He drank beer with the tourists. Check it out at the TACOMA History Museum, 919 Pacific Avenue. The current exhibit is about The Tacoma Hotel from 1893-1935 - "BE OUR GUEST."
thackerspeed September 14, 2014

"The bear is currently sleeping off the tranquilizer dart in the Metro Parks parking lot." Special care was taken to not disturb nearby employees sleeping off recreational tranquilizers.
KitchenDickJones September 17, 2014

uhhhhhh, so the bear is all alone with no family??? chances are she has a family, maybe even cubs. so they are going to relocate her and then leave the rest behind?? I very highly doubt she is a rogue bear that traveled hundreds of miles to get to Tacoma.
- JDHasty September 17, 2014
  
  A "family," Goldilocks is a fairy tale. The bears are used as a metaphor and contain both human and beastly characteristics. These fables can be used to teach children life lessons but are not a good place to learn about the biological world. A new study by University of Toronto researchers has found that kids' books featuring animals with human characteristics not only lead to less factual learning but also influence children's reasoning about animals. A new study has found that kids' books featuring animals with human characteristics not only lead to less factual learning but also influence children's reasoning about animals. Researchers also found that young readers are more likely to attribute human behaviors and emotions to animals when exposed to books with anthropomorphized animals than books depicting animals realistically. Researchers also found that young readers are more likely to attribute human behaviors and emotions to animals when exposed to books with anthropomorphized animals than books depicting animals realistically. "Books that portray animals realistically lead to more learning and more accurate biological understanding," says lead author Patricia Ganea, Assistant Professor with the University of Toronto's Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development. "We were surprised to find that even the older children in our study were sensitive to the anthropocentric portrayals of animals in the books and attributed more human characteristics to animals after being exposed to fantastical books than after being exposed to realistic books." This study has implications for the type of books adults use to teach children about the real world. The researchers advise parents and teachers to consider using a variety of informational and nonfiction books, and to use factual language when describing the biological world to young children. The study was recently published in the online journal Frontiers in Psychology.
  - thackerspeed September 18, 2014
    
    SPOILER ALERT. There is no Smokey Bear. Smokey does not exist. Literally speaking, everything we say about Smokey is false. Smokey does not work for the U,S. Forest Service. Smokey does not roam the wilderness wearing a campaign hat, blue jeans, and carrying a shovel. Smokey is not a messenger of fire prevention. But, we can say that there is a story we tell about Smokey Bear; and in that story it's true that Smokey has those characteristics. However, if someone thought that in the story, Smokey was a Jekyll & Hyde character in a bear costume, with a misunderstood case of pyromania, then that person would be mistaken about the features in the story. But notice, Smokey Bear is a story. It's not real. Everyday life can't be like that.