Black Bears Living in Issaquah
My friend, who lives in the Issaquah highlands, recently went to pick up his trash bin and found a nice surprise waiting outside his home—a black bear. Issaquah has black bears. Awe, cute! Or, maybe it’s not so cute if you have children or small pets. While people worry about the safety of their family and cleanliness of their neighborhoods, I think, smart bear.
Issaquah is queen of Eastside suburbia, especially when you include the highlands. Developers are purposefully building neighborhoods that complement the existing homes in an effort to create uniformly pleasant living arrangements. This offers families—and the bears—confidence that as their community grows, its style and charm will not be lost.
The developers have done such a good job at uniformity, I am almost convinced I could identify an Issaquah townhome from a group of random house listings. Issaquah townhomes usually embrace one or more of following qualities:
- New construction
- Hardwoods that are slightly modern (bamboo) with either an extremely dark are bright stain
- The word “plush” falls within the home’s description. Don’t believe me? Test it out.
- Eco-modern exterior paint (think olive green/burnt yellow or sunrise/chocolate)
- Greenery is abundant in all exterior photos. People don’t live in Issaquah for the pavement. Bring on the outdoors—cougars and bears too!
- Townhomes tend to be 2+ stories, with tandem garages. The description places emphasis on ability to fit large vehicles. Got to have a place to store the soccer-mobile.
- Proximity to I-90 or 405 emphasized
With that said, here are a few Issaquah townhomes that decided to recently take a dip into the MLS pool.
178 Cougar Ridge Rd NW
Price: $464,900
2250 Newport Way NW #2250
Price: $343,900
5268 236th Pl SE
Price: $245,000
(mentions I-90 and full-size SUV comment. Ha!)
*Editor note: Photo above was provided by Bear Aware and does not depict a black bear in Issaquah.
Still wondering about the bears in Issaquah?
The city of Issaquah Web site has a standing black bear alert that provides tips and tricks for living with the animals. Here are a few do’s and don’ts if you have a lucky encounter.
- Stay calm and avoid direct eye contact, which could elicit a charge. Because bears are nearsighted, and if one has not caught your scent, it could mistake you for prey. Try to stay upwind and identify yourself as a human by standing up, waving your hands above your head and talking. The black bear will most likely leave you alone.
- Do not approach the bear, especially if cubs are around. Give the bear plenty of room and slowly back away. Leave the bear an escape route at all times. If you are too close, a bear may “bluff” charge, although it is highly unlikely the bear would touch you. Running away is not a wise decision as running may also stimulate the bear’s instinct to chase.
- If you cannot safely move away from the bear and the bear doesn’t flee, try to scare it away by aggressively clapping your hands, or yelling. Black bears can climb trees, so fleeing up a tree is not a safe option.
- In the unlikely event that a black bear attacks, fight back aggressively using your bare hands or with any object you can reach. As a last resort, protect yourself by curling into a ball or lying flat on the ground on your stomach and playing dead. Do not look up or move until you are certain the bear is gone.
