Black bear spotted in Prosser-area orchards

An unlikely visitor has been spotted in the Prosser area over the last week — a small black bear.

He has been seen wandering in orchards west of Prosser since about a week ago, said Kerry McLerran, a Washington State Fish and Wildlife officer.

“He’s not a danger to anyone,” McLerran said. But officers are interested in relocating the bear to a more appropriate habitat than the sage and farm land of Benton County.

Officers are not sure where he is from, but he may have traveled into Benton County from the mountains west of Yakima or from Klickitat County, McLerran said.

A culvert trap, which does not harm the bear, was set and baited for him in one Prosser-area orchard. When the bear was spotted to the west, not far from the Yakima County line, the trap was moved to an orchard there.

He may leave the area on his own, McLerran said.

The bear is brown in color and weighs less than 100 pounds, McLerran said. The black bear species can vary in color, from black to different shades of brown. Officers do not know if it is male or female.

The only mischief it has caused is getting into one trash can, as far as officers know.

They’ve issued the same instructions they give residents of regions where bears are more common.

If possible, trash and pet food should be kept secured inside a shed or garage in areas where the bear has been seen, McLerran said.

Bears are rare in Benton County, but they visit occasionally.

McLerran who has been based in the Tri-Cities for almost a decade, remembers one in the Plymouth and Paterson area.

In addition, a young black bear was seen in a Benton City orchard in early June 2013.

It was spotted in a vineyard and killed because officials could see few safe places for it to go if scared away from the vineyard. It was not far from the interstate and residential areas.

This story was originally published May 18, 2016 at 5:17 PM with the headline "Black bear spotted in Prosser-area orchards."