A hiker's photos confirm the sighting of a grizzly bear in Washington state's North Cascades and are the first such images in perhaps a half century, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday.
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Soon after word spread of the confirmation, the bear even had his own Twitter following at
A panel of experts unanimously identified the grizzly in photos taken last October by Joe Sebille, who was hiking near the community of Marblemount when he saw the bear and snapped the cell phone photos.
Friends persuaded Sebille to share the photos with North Cascades National Park officials.
A member of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, Becki Heath, said it's a significant event in the recovery of the species.
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“This is a significant event in the world of grizzly bear recovery,” Heath said in a statement. “Although grizzly bears once occupied the North Cascades, the current population appears to be at very low levels. We rarely have evidence of their presence in the ecosystem.”
Fewer than 20 grizzlies are believed to live in Washington's North Cascades. The bears are protected under state and federal law.















