LLISFORDE – It’s noteveryday a moderntime fairy tale playsout before your eyes.

That was the caseFriday when more than 50spectators flocked thevineyards of Esther BricquesWinery at 38 Swanson MillRoad to see Fish and Wildlifeofficials immobilize and safelyrelocate three little bears andtheir mama.

The bears wandered intothe winery and yard of ownerLinda Colvin.

In her Goldilocks likefashion, Colvin had errands torun that day as the bearssettled into her porridge — err,grapes, plums and apples —and snuggled into a tall blackmaple tree for a nap.

“We were starting to pickgrapes. So, we were out movingearly, early that morning,”Colvin said. “I was leaving atabout 10:30 a.m. and the dogwas barking.”

She said she saw her dogchase a cub up a tree in theyard and called in local stateDepartment of Fish andWildlife officers to relocate thecub that looked as cuddly as ateddy bear.

But it wasn’t just one bearup a tree — it was the mamabear and her three cubs.

“I was kind of surprised wehad four bears in a tree,” Fishand Wildlife Sgt. DanChristensen said. “I’ve neverseen that (many bears in thesame tree).”

He said the bears werelikely hanging around thewinery – not for a quick buzz –but for the fresh grapes thatdelicately hang on the vines.

Steve and Linda knew therewas a bear in the area evenbefore they saw a cub scamperup the tree.

“We had seen tracks theweek before that were as largeas my hand, so we knew therewas a bear somewhere aroundbut we didn’t see the smallertracks,” Colvin said. “We neverdid inform our pickers we hadsomething going on.”

With the help of severalother Fish and Wildlife officers,a biologist, off duty borderpatrol agents, Oroville FireChief Rod Noel and twofirefighters, rescuers were ableto successfully tranquilize all

four bears and catch them intarps around the base of thetree.

“I felt we could successfullydart them,” Christensen said. “Icalled the PUD (Public UtilityDistrict) and called OrovilleP.D. and asked for Rod Noel.He ended up bringing the firetruck. That way we had theoption to go up and get them ifwe wanted to.”

Christensen said he initiallytried to drug the mother bearfirst and “figured the cubsmight come down to her.”

“Unfortunately, a cubdecided to come down first,” hesaid. “That cub was put into thetrap. Then we moved to mom.”

One dart, two darts, threedarts, four.

The mama bear’s adrenalinalmost staved off twotranquilizers, slid partwaydown the tree, then found thestrength to move higher indefense of the two remainingcubs.

About 15 minutes after thefourth dart hit, mama bear fellinto the awaiting tarp.

The remaining cubs alsotook more than one dart tobring them down safely.

In all, Christensen saidabout $400 in drugs were used– due in part to a couple dartmalfunctions – to immobilizethe bears.

“It wasn’t cheap,” he said.“My division doesn’t have a tonof money.”

One dart didn’t inject, whileanother one was removed fromthe mother by a cub. One darteven got hung up in the tree,and “I had to retrieve it,”Christensen said.

Christensen estimated thecubs to be from last year’slitter, weighing between 40-50pounds each. The mother bearis estimated to be between 225-240 pounds.

Christensen said the bearswere successfully relocated to aremote location northeast ofLoomis.

In all, it was a beary goodday for the three little bearsand their mama.

But that relocation was oneof numerous bear sightingswithin the past weekthroughout the area.

As Fish and Wildlife officerswere wrapping up at EstherBricques, another Ellisforderesident stopped by to let themknow she awoke to a bearoutside her bedroom windowthat morning.

Christensen advised her tosecure garbage, keep pets inkennels, indoors or on leashes,and make sure pet food wasnot left out overnight.

About 24 hours before theEllisforde bears foundthemselves gobbling grapes,Christensen and his officershad responded to a youngfemale bear in a tree nearCoulee Dam.

“She was about 50 pounds

and most likely had her motherkilled, or was recently kickedout by mom,” he said, notingshe was successfully relocated,too.

But a similar situation inOmak ended differently Fridayat about the time theEllisforde-area bears werebeing captured.

The Omak PoliceDepartment, along withofficials from ColvilleConfederated Tribal Policeresponded to East OmakElementary School, where ayoung bear was sightedroaming on the grounds, which

are located on the ColvilleIndian Reservation.

At one point, officialsstopped traffic on U.S.Highway 97 by hand motionswhile the bear moved from theschool grounds up the hillsideand attempted to enter thenorthbound lane.

Tribal officials called in ahunter to harvest the bear.

The tribe was also directedto a bear reportedly spottednear the Old Flour Mill inOkanogan, which lies on thereservation as well.

Another bear was reportedlysighted Saturday near Omak.

Christensen said the likelyreason for all the recent bearactivity is due in part to lastyear’s mild winter and thisyear’s drought.

“All of our berry crops havefailed this year,” he said. “With

all these hot, dry conditions,there is no food for them.”

So with little food to foragein the woods, bears are movingcloser to town, and residents.

“I think a lot of the currentharvest practice for orchardshas changed,” he said, addingnowadays more fruit is left oftrees and falls to the ground.“All those things are a factor.”

The fires this year are alsopushing wildlife closer topeople, like the three bears andtheir mama at Esther Bricques.

“I was grateful that they(Fish and Wildlife officers) didcome get them,” Colvin said. “Iwas pretty impressed. It took alot to get them down. It took abit of time and mama, she wasresilient.”

And as for Colvin’s nextwine, she’s considering thename “Forbearance.”

www.omakchronicle.com The Chronicle • Sept. 16, 2015 • Community • A9

‘Bearytale’ unfolds at Esther Bricques

Numerous bear

encounters

reported last week

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A ‘mama’ bear and her three cubs take refuge in a tree at Esther Bricques Winery last Friday while game officials figure out how to safely relocate them.

The Chronicle

OKANOGAN – Portions ofOkanogan County and localfish and wildlife officers arefeatured on the AnimalPlanet’s series “RuggedJustice” airing on Sundaynights.

“Animal Planet has a showchronicling fish and wildlifepolice,” state Department ofFish and Wildlife Sgt. DanChristensen said. “A lot ofpeople don’t fully realize whatwe do and who we are.”

The show, which is now inits second season, covers avariety of different tasksDepartment of Fish andWildlife officials deal with ona day-to-day basis. The entireseries is filmed throughoutthe state.

On Sunday, the showfeatured a segment wherelocal officials caught andrelocated a bear.

We caught the bear near a“house at Leader Lake andimmobilized the bear, andreleased in Salmon Meadowsin Conconully,” Christensensaid.

“It’s a cool show,” he said.“We’ll see how these otherepisodes look.”

Christensen said the showis produced by Shark TeethFilms, which is a nationalreality television companynotably for their programssuch as 48 Hours, Big Brotherand Fast and Loud.

The series can be seen at 5p.m. local time (8 p.m.eastern) Sundays on AnimalPlanet.

Fish and Wildlife officersfeatured in TV series

Chronicle story and photos by Brock Hires and Roger Harnack

Two bear cubs are all tuckered out after a night of eating grapes in a Swanson Mill Road vineyard.

A bear makes its way fromEast Elementary School upthe roadside nearly onto U.S.Highway 97 on Friday.