DES MOINES - A black bear is on the loose - probably somewhere in Des Moines. But that's not where he started his day.

He began on Point Robinson on Maury Island -- about two miles across Puget Sound. The bear then jumped in the water and took off.

The caretaker at the lighthouse on Maury Island saw it all. He told state biologists the bear was swimming fast -- it took him only one hour to make the two mile swim. He came ashore around Saltwater State Park.

At the same time, the state says a commercial boat radioed the Coast Guard saying they had seen a swimming bear.

Soon after the bear arrived in Des Moines, surprised neighbors started calling Fish and Wildlife agents saying "hey there's a bear in my front yard."

"He wandered right up here and he actually looked at me," said Phi Tieskoetter. "And I wondered 'Hey, is this actually a bear or a dog?' And he looked at me and I was like 'Holy cow, it's a bear.' "

After leaving Phi's house, the bear raced down the street in front of Sue Jensen.

"Not something you expect to see in Des Moines," Jensen said.

State Wildlife Biologist Rocky Spencer and his bear tracking dog were called in, but despite the multiple sightings, the dog couldn't pick up the scent. They blame the warm weather.

'These are the worst tracking conditions you can every have because it's so warm," Spencer said. "The scent just dissipates."

So why would a bear decide to take the long swim? Maybe for love.

"This is the breeding season," Spencer said. "And if it's a male searching for a receptive female, he might go a long way for that. It's hard to say."

So what we may have here is a bear looking for love in all the wrong places.

Trackers are actually waiting for someone to report a recent sighting. That way the dog can pick up the fresh scent of the bear.

For now, the bear doesn't present a serious risk to humans. But for people in and around Des Moines, it's time to be bear beware.