Friday, August 29, 2008

Bear visits downtown Ketchum

Ketchum police run the animal out of town


By TERRY SMITH
Express Staff Writer

Bears are occasional visitors in Ketchum. A bear larger than this recently photographed youngster was spotted downtown early Wednesday morning in the alley behind Board Bin on Fourth Street. Photo by Mountain Express

Three shotgun blasts were heard in Ketchum early Wednesday morning as police fired non-lethal rubber projectiles to chase an adult black bear from the downtown.

The bear, estimated at about 200 pounds, was last seen headed toward the Big Wood River and hasn't been heard from since.

The bear was first spotted around 6:30 a.m. rummaging through a dumpster in the alley behind Board Bin on Fourth Street. Ketchum police contacted the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and were instructed to try to drive the bear toward the river.

Tom Denker, the owner of Evergreen Landscaping, said he was leaving the Java coffee shop across the street from Board Bin at about 6:45 a.m. when he saw the animal.

"I thought it was a big black dog at first, and then I realized it was a bear," Denker said. "It was surreal. It was almost like it was staged. A police officer pulled up, got out with a shotgun and fired once at the bear and then he fired at it again. It ran toward U.S. Bank and then he fired at it one more time.

"It moved pretty darned good. I hope they weren't trying to kill it."

Ketchum Assistant Police Chief Mike McNeil said the officer on the scene fired at the bear with non-lethal projectiles.

"They're rubber rounds," McNeil said. "They're just one ball about the size of a marble that fit into a shotgun shell."

Ketchum police spokeswoman Kim Rogers said the rounds are referred to as "batons" rather than bullets.

"They're supplied by Fish and Game to provide an incentive for bears to stay away from people," Rogers said. "Usually they don't come back."

Sun Valley Police Chief Cameron Daggett said his department is also provided with the rubber rounds.

"They just bounce off their butts and it's more the noise that scares them." Daggett said.

Fish and Game Conservation Office Lee Garwood said he was notified by police, but couldn't get up there in time.

"The last I heard was that they had pushed it down toward the river and hadn't heard from it since," Garwood said. "I'm sure he'd been in town looking for something to eat."

Garwood said a description of the bear placed it as an adult.

"It didn't cause any problems or anything," Garwood said.

"It's not unusual to have them in the area," he said. "You have them down Trail Creek or in Warm Springs and this one just wandered into town farther than they usually get.

"It's just a typical bear wandering around trying to find something to eat."




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