ISSAQUAH, Wash — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is seeking the public's help in tracking down a black bear in the Squak Mountain area just south of Issaquah.
Reports indicate the bear might also be in the Cougar Mountain area, which is just northwest of Squak Mountain.
The WDFW said it allocated significant time and resources to trap the bear, including efforts by four WDFW employees and the deployment of four culvert traps earlier this month. The WDFW said the culvert traps were removed last week while the group assesses the next steps.
The organization said the bear has been highly mobile, navigating between suburban areas, backyards and private properties, getting into "improperly stored garbage" in the process.
The WDFW said the bear initially was trapped and collared as part of a research project, but that collar no longer is sharing location data. The collars are designed with a cotton cloth spacer intended to rot and break away. The WDFW wasn't clear as to why this bear's collar has yet to fall off as planned.
Although the collar remains on the bear, the WDFW is confident the animal is not being strangled by the device and expects it to fall off as designed.
"Our understanding is on this bear, the cotton spacing on the collar has lasted longer than it should. And the bear has become portly feeding on unsecured garbage and other non-natural food sources," the department said in a statement to KING 5. "This is really unfortunate, but we’re confident it will break and fall off."
Officials are asking the public to report any sightings at this link and shared more information on properly securing garbage and living with black bears. People also can report sightings to the WDFW at (360) 902-2936 or by emailing enforcement-web@dfw.wa.gov.