Bears in the Seattle area? While grizzly bears are mostly found in the Selkirk Mountains in Eastern Washington, there are black bears throughout the state. Recently one was spotted on an I-90 tunnel just miles from Seattle. Let’s look at the viral picture and see why a bear would be so close to Seattle.
Bear Spotted Where I-90 Meets 405
You can visit the Reddit post above, or we’ve embedded a picture of the bear spotted on I-90 below. The location of the incident was in an I-90 tunnel near where it meets Interstate 405. The post quickly shot up the Reddit for Seattle. It’s not every day you get dashcam footage of a bear in one of the tunnels around Seattle!
The author of the post says the bear incident was reported to the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. So there’s no reason to believe the bear is still roaming the tunnel and the proper authorities have been notified.
Where Are Black Bears in the Seattle Area Coming From?
If you look at the location where this bear was spotted, it’s not far from Coal Creek Natural Area. That’s notable because in 2021 Bellevue Parks & Community Services released video of black bears walking game trails in this park. Beyond black bears, Coal Creek is also home to bobcats.
Another close incident was in Issaquah. Just two weeks ago a large black bear was spotted running around the city’s downtown! You can see footage of the incident below.
The bear spotted on I-90 was much smaller, which would indicate it’s a cub looking for new territory to claim. With cities straddling the Cascade foothills like Sammamish, Issaquah, and Snoqualmie growing at rapid rates it’s likely the Seattle area will see more incidents where people come into contact with bears in the decades to come.
