State wildlife officers continued their hunt in the Fort Hoskins area west of Corvallis this morning for a food-scavenging, 200-pound black bear.

The bear has been branded a nuisance so officials want it trapped and destroyed, said Steve Marx, the South Willamette Watershed district manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in Corvallis.

The 2-year-old bear came out of hibernation in May looking for food where caretakers of a property in the area started feeding it last year. The caretakers were told to stop but did not until later, which has created the situation the bear is in now, said George McAdams, acting director of the Benton County Natural Areas and Parks Department.

Now the bear is appearing in various places looking for handouts to supplement its diet, he said.

It would be too dangerous for officers to hunt the bear down and then shoot it, so they are trying to trap it first. They have placed food in a culvert, hoping to entice the bear inside. This morning, officers discovered the culvert trap had been rattled but the bear was not caught, he said.

Now, officers are putting out snares to get the bear.

The bear cannot be relocated in the wild because its pattern seems to be to return to the places where it has found food in the past. The bear is also scavenging for food during the daylight, which is unusual and shows the bear is not afraid of humans, said Rick Hargrave, information and education officer for the fish and wildlife department in Salem.

"The bear is a repeat offender, and it is getting bolder and bolder," he said.

Hargrave said he is unaware of any sanctuaries or refuges where the bear could be taken.

Bears are common throughout Oregon, and this is not an uncommon issue, especially at park sites where there is food, Hargrave said.

Normally black bears leave humans alone and tend to run from people in the wild, he said.

To avoid situations like this, McAdams urges people not to feed wild animals and to keep areas around their homes and campsites free of food.