Was that killing of the bear because it was being a "pest"? Or do they allow bear hunting in these mountains? Are there that many bears here that they allow hunting (with rifles, bow and arrows, dogs that tree them and then killed). My husband told me he saw the bear strapped on someones vehicle at Jensen's on Saturday, and I am thankful I did not see it. I probably would of gone ballistic.
That was the same bear. It was killed by hunters who were hunting for bear and had the proper tags. Archery season for Bear is now going on (August 15th - September 6th). Later in the fall Bear season using rifles will be open (October 10th - December 27). It just happened that this bear, according to the hunters, was also making itself a pest at the camp grounds in Big Rock Creek, even dragging an Ice Chest away from a camp. It is not the reason it was killed. They told me that it was killed near the water tower above Sycamore Campground.
There are plenty of Bears in the Angeles National Forest. If the population was on the decline, I suspect that the CDFG would not issue Bear tags. 21 Bears were killed in Los Angeles County last year. 23 in San Bernardino County. Last year out of nearly 26,000 Bear Tags that were issued for the entire State of California, only 2,000 tags were validated. A hunter can request a refund on an unused tag.
I don't see too many people hunting for Bear. Deer and Quail hunting is much more popular in this area. A Bear tag runs about $40 in addition to your hunting license and only one tag a year per hunting license is allowed.
Although these hunters came to the Big Pines Ranger Station to have their tag validated, only CDFG employees may validate a Bear tag and the skull must be presented to a CDFG office/officer within 10 days of the kill. It becomes the property of the CDFG for scientific purposes. Usually all that is required is a tooth. So you can see that Bear hunting is very carefully regulated here in California.
One consolation, these hunters were not just hunting Bear for the sport, but were looking forward to eating the meat.
Not being a hunter myself, I'd rather see these animals alive in their habitat, but, since working with the USFS for the past three years as a volunteer, I've come to respect those that do hunt and do so according to the laws and regulations in our forest.
