Officials at Mount Rainier National Park continue to try to chase a small black bear from the Paradise area. It is one of as many as three bears that have been frequenting the popular park destination.

The small black bear in particular has been the target of efforts over the last week to scare it away from human food sources.

An attempt to trap the bear Tuesday night failed, said Ellen Myers, the park’s acting wildlife ecologist.

Jeffrey P. Mayor/The News Tribune
A small black bear munches on vegetation Friday just above the parking lot near the main entrance to the Paradise Inn.

Park staff realized they might have a problem on their hands on Oct. 8, when the brown-coated bear, sporting a light colored stripe along its upper back, startled Guest Services, Inc., employees at Paradise Inn. They found the bear sitting atop a garbage container behind the inn. The bear then wandered over to the windows along the restaurant. When the bear stood up against a window, it broke one of the panes with a paw.

The next day park staff tried to scare the bear -- believed to be a 2-year-old -- away using bean bags fried from a shotgun, rubber bullets and noisemakers, Myers said.

The park also called in Bruce Richards of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. He brought a Karelian bear dog to help scare the bear away.

Those efforts worked, for one night.

By Friday morning, the bear was entertaining hikers and visitors to the new visitor center at Paradise as he munched on grass and vegetation close to the inn.

“We try to shepherd the bear away from the area. We try to make it an unpleasant experience for the bear,” Myers said.

That is a preferred alternative to relocating a troublesome bear.

“Relocating is more of a feel good move. Within two years, 60 percent of them are dead. There’s several reasons -- you’re moving them to an area they don’t know, other bears may push them to a less desirable area and they don’t know the area and its resources,” Myers said.

“Our hope is that it would get cold and snowy, and that would send them into hibernation. But that won’t solve the problem for next spring,” she added.

The biggest concern is the bear, and others in the area, may be getting used to eating human food. They have been seen eating garbage and park officials know of at least one instance in which a park visitor left food on a windowsill at the inn before it closed.

“It’s exciting for the public to see them, but it can go from a good experience to a very bad experience really quickly. It’s great to make that connection, but not the wrong way, by feeding them,” Myers said,

“It’s been kind of an odd year for bears. Because the snow level was so low for so long, that might be reason they’ve stayed in Paradise this year.”

The typical fine for feeding wildlife is $100. But a more serious case could result in a mandatory court appearance and a fine up to $5,000, said park spokeswoman Jennifer Mummart.