Krispy Kremes being used to lure bear in Bellevue

Using maple syrup and dayold Krispy Kreme doughnuts as bait, state wildlife officials are trying to trap a young bear that's been roaming a Bellevue neighborhood, getting into garbage and just generally causing trouble.

The bear is about 70 to 80 pounds, and has been knocking over garbage and getting into birdfeeders in the neighborhood around 145th Avenue Southeast in south Bellevue, said Jason Capelli, a game warden with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.

"His comfort level with people is not good," said Capelli, who said that if he's trapped, wildlife officials will move him to the mountains, using Karelian bear dogs and loud noise to persuade the young bruin to keep away from people. That's known as a "hard release" by wildlife officials.

Bellevue resident Chuck Nau spotted the bear around 1 p.m. Thursday when he heard a peculiar noise on his front porch. The bear was at his front door.

Nau opened another door that led onto the porch "and just went, 'shoo,' " Nau said. "I just anticipated he'd run." Instead, the little bear took its time leaving the porch — a sign that it's too comfortable with humans for its own good, wildlife officials say.

Nau kept shooing, clapping and making noise to get the bear to leave, and it climbed a fir tree in his yard. His neighbors called Bellevue police. But although they tried to keep the bear treed until wildlife officials could set nets and capture it, the bear eventually backed out of the tree and dashed away.

Capelli said the bear is about a 1 ½ years old. It was probably kicked out of the den by its mother because it's old enough to be on its own, and because mama bear is likely pregnant again.

The bear may have come from Cougar Mountain Regional Wildland Park, south of Bellevue, Capelli said. "There's enough room for some bears" in the park, he said. "But some bears produce more bears."

And the Krispy Kremes?

"Krispy Kreme doughnuts are standard bear bait," Capelli said. The dayold confections are donated by the company, and along with maple syrup and caramel-molasses mix, they make an enticing bait for young bears, he said.

Katherine Long: 206-464-2219 or klong@seattletimes.com