BOISE — Boise police Wednesday morning worked with Idaho Fish and Game officials to encourage a bear to leave a residential area in southeast Boise near Highway 21, but authorities believe it has returned.
Officers initially responded about 8 a.m. to the Surprise Valley area on reports of a bear sighting, according to a tweet from the Boise Police Department. Not long after, Ada County dispatchers confirmed it was safe for residents to leave their homes.
Not long before 10:30 a.m., however, the Boise Police Department tweeted the bear had returned to the area.
The bear appeared to be a 2-year-old black bear, according to a news release from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. It was last reported around noon Wednesdy, wandering through a natural riparian area near New York Canal, north of Surprise Way.
“Officers are working to keep the area safe and support Fish and Game,” the Boise Police Department’s tweet reads. “We ask you to please avoid the area of Surprise Way and (South Schooner Avenue).”
If the bear remains near homes in the area, officials will tranquilize it and move it, according to the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. If, however, it moves back toward the foothills or other unpopulated areas, officials will allow it to continue to do so.
While black bears are commonly found in the Boise Foothills, they are more likely spotted in the area of the city during the fall. Usually, there is enough forage available to feed a hungry black bear awaking from hibernation the spring, and thus they are less likely to venture into the city during that time of year, according to the release from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
