Sunday, September 23, 2007

The urban jungle

Or forest, as the case may be. As I wrote at the outset of Sidewalk 208, Idaho is an increasingly urban state, but also one where wild lands and wild critters are still close at hand. We've had elk wander into Treasure Valley traffic this month, and East Junior High School on the fringe of the downtown Boise core was locked down one afternoon last week as Idaho Fish & Game officials tranquilized a brown bear that had scrambled up a tree on the school grounds. Here's a story and video about the capture. Experts say the heavy forest fire season is one reason we've seen more wildlife within the capital city limits this year.

2 comments:

wolf21m said...

Only a minor correction - It was a black bear. If it really was a brown bear (grizzly) then people might have a reason for concern. Being that it was a small black bear it was amazing the "fear" expressed by the local news media. Anyone spending any time in the woods knowns that the only part of a black bear you usually see is its butt as it runs away. Of course there are always exceptions, but extremely rare.

Julie Fanselow said...

wolf21m, you are so right. Thanks for that correction. I think the little guy's fur was brown, but it was a black bear.

I don't watch much TV, so the only coverage I saw on this was from the Statesman (and - before that- from my daughter, who goes to East and reported it as soon asw she got home that day). I didn't detect fear so much as a sense of wonder that we have BEARS in fast-growing Boise.

I understand why East's principals decided to keep the kids inside - probably to keep the little bear from being traumatized by a few hundred teens.