Bears!

[smartpatrol]

Bear sighting on Desert Front...

Around 12:30AM on the 31st, there was a bear on my porch! 

The bear went through the trash cans, but thankfully there wasn't too much in there.  He quickly abandoned the one with used cat litter in it. 

[superMom]

Sorry, but you are not going to get me out trying to scare any bear away, seen too many after effects of bears and humans in many different national parks.  No matter how fat and lazy they appear, make no mistake, they are wild and will turn at a moments notice.  I just happened to catch the news on CNN and they were reporting this story about a bear attack right here in S. Calif.  The first story is just about the attack, and if you don't believe they are dangerous and you have a strong stomach, watch the second one, where the actual victim talks about the attack. 


http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/07/23/musa.ca.bear.attack.kget?iref=videosearch

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/07/23/musa.ca.bear.attack.kget?iref=videosearch

[Tomas]

Of course they are dangerous. They are large animals with sharp teeth and big claws. If you mix unaware people with large wild animals, you are going to have problems. There was a reason for the attack, weather the media reports it or not. Any responsible person walking or living in the forest knows the risk. Of course they can turn around at a moments notice I recognized that they are wild animals in my last post. People have to take responsibility for their actions and be smarter than the bears. If it turns around and stands up on you, slowly back away. If these bears were aggressive killers, we'd have a bunch of dead backyard dogs in our town. That is not the case.

People get hit by cars more than they are attacked by black bears. Just as you look both ways before crossing the street, you should look all around you as you spend time in the forest. If a bear is in your yard or on your porch use your home a protection as you scare it off. Sports air horns, whistles, pots, and pans work great! Unprotected trash next to a peaceful home is going to attract bears. If you refuse protect your home, don't complain about these "uninvited" guest.

[Up Sheep Creek]

Using your pots and pans is a great idea.  I usually put the trash out on Sunday evening but from now on my trash is going out in the morning.

[superMom]

Several sites have suggested putting ammonia in your trash can to make them un-appealing to bears.  Has anyone actually tried this with good results?

[RennMan]

Bear sighting, 0345L this morning, near Lark and Cedar.

I woke up because the light in our carport went on.  Looked outside to see a large light brown bear carrying the garbage bag out of the can, set it down on the driveway behind my truck, and proceeded to dig through it to get what he/she wanted.  MakGirls' beef ribs must have smelled so good that the bear wanted them too!

The bear then wandered next door to superMom's house.

This one was pretty good sized, about as long as my truck is wide (about 6 feet), light brown fur, and looked to be well fed, at least from what I could tell from our bedroom window.

I'll try again to fix the "bear-proof" latches on the trash cans, and perhaps put the used cat litter in the bottom of the can, but this may not slow the bear down very much.

MakGirl will call CR&R in the morning to request new cans, if CR&R has them.

I apologize to superMom for any mess the bear caused, but I wasn't about to go outside and clean things up until daylight.

[RennMan]

Addendum to my previous message:

Still don't know exactly what the bear was after, but I tried to fix the latches on both containers, to no avail.

The steel "hoop" that wraps around the lid (of the green Trash container) was deformed, and I don't know if I can bend it back into place.  The damage was done months ago, perhaps by the machine on the trash truck.

The blue "Recyclables" container has a bracket bent at about 30 degrees, also making it unable to latch closed.  Again, I'm unsure as to what caused that damage.

If CR&R wants us to use these containers as they are intended, perhaps they need to be more careful when loading them or unloading them from the truck, or maybe the truck mechanism needs a modification.

Bottom line is that neither of my containers is currently able to latch closed.  And the bear will be back to dine on whatever is inside the container.

Methinks a better "bear-proof" container is what is needed, since the current ones don't seem to do the job.

[superMom]

Addendum to RennMans addendum: 
I HAD used kitty littler in my non-bearproof (because CR&R were out of them) can - didn't phase him in the least.  He's getting really good at the trash can thing - watched him tip ours with one clay - him going into RennMan and MakGirl's woke me up.  At our house he had a feast of old tortilla's, a couple of rock hard muffins and ripped up a plastic juice container - found the remnants all over the yard.  I did call CR&R and ordered bear proof cans and they said they would deliver them my next trash day. 

As a side note, I had a pretty good idea the bear was around because at the last walk outside for our dog I heard a very distinctive grunting/snorting/heavy breathing (a bit like a congested Darth Vadar)!  Decided that was the end of his walk, and hightailed it back into the house - he's big and he scares me!

[Tomas]

It's really good that you were aware of your surroundings and were able to hear the bear. I've seen people within 15 feet of bears that were oblivious. The people just walked on by and the bear stood perfectly still watching them until the passed. The look on their face after I told them about the bear was priceless. 

I know it is easier said than done, but try not to be scared. Just continue to avoid them when possible and defend your home when necessary.

Healthy wild bears really are fascinating animals to watch from a safe distance.

[Iris]

Year before last, we had several bear sightings around the house. Front yard, back yard...walking down the street. It was very cool to watch them. But, yes be aware. Luckily I have three dogs that give warning and surprisingly didn't scare off the bears. Have yet to see one this year, but did hear the grunting as described above one night.

Note: When they got into ours or our neighbors trash it did seem that they were partial to Mile High containers. We would find salad, bread stick and pizza containers in pieces and all about the yard the next morning.

[Tomas]

But, yes be aware. Luckily I have three dogs that give warning and surprisingly didn't scare off the bears.

The bears in the area have gotten used to dags barking at them from behind fences, in homes, or on leashes. They've learned to ignore it because the dogs don't do anything.

I've surprised a couple of bears by letting my dogs free to protect our facility. (I call off the dogs before they go on other people's land.) At first I could not believe how close the bear let my dogs get. But it makes a lot of sense. I have a few neighbors that have dogs that bark and bark but never do anything to the bear. There is rarely a need for the bears to react to barking.

[smartpatrol]

Not sure if it was the same bear, but we had another bear sighting last night.
This one was a little bolder--came right up to the screen door!
The trash can was near the kitchen window, and we caught the bear sniffing around it.  He saw us and left.  He didn't come back to paw through the trash can--I guess nothing smelled good to him in there.   

[Leftfield]

Obviously we have a hungry bear in our mist.  One thing I find interesting that this bear rumages through trash cans that either overfilled or unlatchable (though I wonder if those latches are enough to deter a really hungry bear.) How come this bear (or any bear) dont rumage through those large trash bins that so many of us have?  They would be easy picking since they have no latches and the lids are made of plastic. (However, those who them in business part of town do lock them AND they have metal lids.)  Whats up with that?

[tlc]

I had bear scat in my front yard - Mill and Lark.

[Nolena]

Lots of emphatic dog barking around 0200 - 0300 in the morning.
I heard a lot of coyotes last night. And that's probably when the bears are active, also.
Dogs bark differently when a bear is around.
I'm careful not to let them out investigate.

[Naughty pines]

I had bear scat in my front yard - Mill and Lark.

Did it have jewelery in it and smell like pepper ?

[Stitches]

Mill and Lark?   Isn't that the 'swamp' where the junveniles were camped?   Another good reason for them not to go there.

[tlc]

Nothing of value that i could see. But i didn't investigate too thoroughly. I saw a bear near the school a few years ago. Ran right in front of the car, jumped onto a tree at the Pines and then meandered through the area. I'm not thrilled the teens hang at the wash but for the most part they are good kids who just need a place to call their own. It's not like WW has a lot for them to do. BTW- what's up with the skatepark concept?

The bear reminds me of a story my friend on Lark shared. He's a big guy - 6'4", 210 or so. He went to take the trash out one night and came within about 10' of a bear. So what did he do?? He ran inside and locked the door. Too funny.

[ChrisLynnet]

I'm not thrilled the teens hang at the wash but for the most part they are good kids who just need a place to call their own. It's not like WW has a lot for them to do. BTW- what's up with the skatepark concept?

I'm not sure about the wash, but the "swamp" is where the juvenile delinquents hung out, the ones that were arrested for burglary. Hardly good kids.

[Wrightwood]

He/She is back.
Last night was not a trash night in our neighborhood and after checking the bears path to the guzzler a pile of scat was located. The bear had definitely been dining on green apples