Bear comes to visit
/Bear near S. Nugent Rd July 25. Photo: Christopher Bowers
Lummi Island tourists now apparently include bears! For the second year in a row, a bear has been sighted in various locations, primarily around the Sunrise Road & S. Nugent Road area. Two reports have seen the bear at the top of the Baker Preserve Trail, and scat as far north as Tuttle Road. On July 27 a bear was seen at the Scenic Estates lake area at 9 am, then near the Otto Preserve at 1:30 pm. Plenty of time to travel there, but are there actually two bears?
A visit happened 2017 as well, when a black bear swam from the Lummi Nation to Lummi Island, feasted on bird feeders, rummaged a few garbage cans, then on swam on to Orcas Island. He was eventually captured and relocated.
Bearly Safe
If you are attacked by a black bear, DO NOT PLAY DEAD. Try to escape to a secure place such as a car or building. If escape is not possible, try to fight back using any object available. Concentrate your kicks and blows on the bear's face and muzzle. More safety info here.
Carry Bear Spray
According to the Smithsonian's How to Avoid Being Eaten by a Black Bear, "these bears silently stalk their prey, sometimes for hours, before quickly rushing to attack." So don't be complacent. "No one who has been killed by a black bear in the past was carrying bear spray with them. That doesn’t mean that the spray is guaranteed to fight off an attacking bear, but it could help."
2018 Black Bear sightings
Black bear at Lummi Island Scenic Estates reservoir
(July 27, 2018)
