Who came first? In this case, the bears.

That’s important as we try to figure out how best to co-exist with wildlife as we move deeper and deeper into their territory.

Once again, last week, we learned firsthand just how close Mother Nature is to our doorsteps. A mother bear and her cub were treed just off May Valley Road at 148th Avenue Southeast in Renton’s outskirts.

Looming in the background – Cougar Mountain. Much of it is a wildland park that the county has preserved – thankfully. It’s home to all manner of wildlife, including bears and maybe even a cougar or two.

On the “human” side of May Valley Road are, well, humans. It’s a pretty pastoral setting, but more and more we have built large upscale housing developments that are changing the nature of that rural part of eastern Renton.

Much of that area where the bears were spotted is still in King County, but there is an effort under way to annex to Renton. City policy makers and planners have done a good job of directing growth closer to the city’s core and transportation corridors.

That policy should help guide whatever zoning is finally adopted for these more rural areas. Housing density shouldn’t be dense, with developments planned – or limited – so that nature has a better chance of controlling stormwater runoff naturally. That means fewer homes and more vegetation.

So, what do the bears have to do with all this policy talk? Because we’re talking about their quality of life, as well as our own.

Bears were on Cougar Mountain and May Valley and Kennydale Hill long before the white man showed up here. We have invaded their territory. So what’s to happen now, to ease what easily could become more conflicts between bear and man? Too often, the loser is the bear. Just ask the tranquilized bear cub who broke its jaw when it fell from the tree last week.

The answer comes in simple eloquency from Dennis McAskill, an animal-control officer with the Renton Police Department:

Leave them alone.

If you spot one or two or three bears, they’re probably in a pasture, eating apples or other fruit. If you hear them at night, they’re probably eating the dog food you left out on the deck over night. They’re doing what comes naturally – eating. And their diet doesn’t include us.

If they’re up close, give them a wide berth, for your own safety and theirs. Don’t turn the encounter into a “carnival sidehow,” the way McAskill described the day-long scene on Monday when the mother bear and her cub spent much of the day up a tree.

They escape danger by climbing trees; it’s not their home. And they won’t come down if there is a bunch of people directly below them on the ground, pointing cameras upward.

Bears and other wildlife are all around us.

Use some common sense and we’ll all get along just fine.

Dean A. Radford can be reached at 425-255-3483, ext. 5050, or at dean.radford@rentonreporter.com.