California’s black bears are intelligent, resourceful and opportunistic. They eat something and every thing — fruits, nuts, bugs, human meals and pet meals. They love chicken feeders. They poach mountain lion kills — corresponding to deer — that they discover. It’s known as kleptoparasitism. They’ll use their backside tooth to work open an unlocked automobile door. In the event that they discover a approach into your home and kitchen, they’ll open jars of peanut butter and jam and, after all, honey.
They’re the one bear species within the state, and, regardless of the identify, their fur ranges in coloration from blond to black. It’s been a century because the grizzly bear was hunted to extinction in California, leaving solely its picture, paradoxically, on the state flag.
Estimating black bears’ numbers is a fraught train. In its draft Black Bear Conservation Plan, the California Division of Fish and Wildlife estimates — utilizing new methodology — the inhabitants at about 65,000 and says it has been secure for a decade. (For years, the division had estimated the inhabitants at 35,000 utilizing much less superior statistical modeling.) Wildlife strategist Wendy Keefover of the group Humane World for Animals — previously the Humane Society of america — argues that quantity is just a guess, and he or she cautions in opposition to placing an excessive amount of emphasis on it as a result of apex predators corresponding to bears are sparsely populated and reproduce slowly.
No matter has occurred with the bear inhabitants, we all know for certain that studies of bear-human interactions have gone up. Based on the Division of Fish and Wildlife, studies have been growing for many years — not because of extra bears however to extra folks residing and vacationing in bear territory. There have been a mean 674 studies yearly from 2017 to 2020, however that shot as much as 1,678 per 12 months throughout 2021 and 2022. The Lake Tahoe Basin and the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains have been explicit sizzling spots.
California Assemblywoman Heather Hadwick (R-Alturas), whose district contains a type of sizzling spots, has launched Meeting Invoice 1038, which might enable hunters to haze bears — however not kill them — by having canines chase them. Hounding of bears by hunters throughout bear searching season was outlawed by the Legislature in 2012 and shouldn’t come again even when hunters don’t intend to kill the bears.
As in 2012, it stays merciless to bears, who find yourself exhausted and clinging to a tree. Canine and bears could struggle. And it’s unclear how chasing a random bear, maybe in a forest, goes to discourage it from foraging for meals round people. (The Division of Fish and Wildlife already permits, in restricted conditions, notably problematic bears in communities or close to livestock to be hazed by canines.)
One other a part of Hadwick’s invoice would authorize the Fish and Sport Fee to determine whether or not hunters may use hounds as soon as extra to hunt and kill bears. The Legislature already banned this observe, and relinquishing its energy over that ban to an appointed fee is not sensible.
Though this invoice’s proposals will not be useful, bear-human encounters are harmful and ought to be minimized. There’s a greater approach to do this. The division and animal welfare advocates strongly urge Californians to seek out methods to make properties, vehicles, campsites and farms unattractive to bears. There are quite a few strategies. Bears love smelly meals. Don’t depart any meals exterior. Use trash cans with bear-proof latches. Take all meals out of your automobile after which lock the automobile doorways. On doorsteps, put down mats that trigger a gentle electrical shock when a bear steps on them; they’re known as “unwelcome mats.” Crawlspaces beneath decks ought to be secured. Take away chicken feeders out of your yard.
Livestock ought to be saved in safe pens at night time. Electrical fencing might be put in round hen coops and enclosures. And for bears that preserve snooping round homes or livestock, there are methods of hazing that don’t contain canines chasing them. Movement-activated lights, noise makers and alarms can scare bears away.
And don’t feed them. In truth, it’s prohibited within the state of California. However Ann Bryant, govt director and a founding father of the Bear League within the Tahoe Basin, says some vacationers do it anyway, placing meals exterior wherever they’re staying in hopes of luring a bear after which snapping an image. It really works — after which the bear comes again anticipating extra meals. That’s when Bryant, whose group’s volunteers assist folks reside extra harmoniously with bears, will get a name from somebody desirous to know make the bear cease coming round.
Bryant’s recommendation is straightforward and easy: Cease placing out meals, and if the bear exhibits up once more, “You stomp your toes and yell, ‘Get outta right here!’ You’re taking away his confidence that persons are going to be good and feed them. It’s a must to let the bear know the occasion’s over.”
So with all these strategies, why do bears preserve coming round? “These strategies do work,” says Fish and Wildlife spokesman Peter Tira. They only should be extra broadly adopted: “The secret’s ongoing training and consciousness, forming good habits, reaching each residents and guests to bear nation.”
Will probably be as much as the division to extra aggressively get the message out. However right here’s some recommendation that vacationers ought to keep in mind, says Bryant: “Assume all the time behind your thoughts, ‘I’m in bear nation.’”
