Bears!

[tlc]

I spoke to Fish and Game in Sacramento. If someone calls on the cub it will most likely be captured and put to sleep. They do not like to relocate. At this point the biggest danger to the cub is traffic on Hwy 2. I will hope for the best for the cub and take comfort in the fact that it's been doing ok for the past two weeks since it was first sighted. If he can get enough nutrition before hybernations, a safe warm retreat has to be somewhere for him.

[Sagebrush]

Just drive down Lone Pine Canyon on a weekend morning and you'll see plenty of hunters.  A truck parked in every turnout, it seems. After driving that road several times a week for a year, it's a little disconcerting...I can't imagine what they think they're shooting at.  I saw a chipmunk run across the road once...

The only time we see deer on lone pine is when the hunters are parked and in the mountains hunting! This is really the time of year we are very careful because the wildlife is running away from the forest!  Personally I gave nothing against hunting but I don't think we need it in Southern California mountains.

[thehallmarks]

we have had a bear--or bears--visiting our neighbors apple trees just south of us for 2 nights--last night I don't think they were there as the dogs were quiet.  However, the 2 previous nights the dogs were really active.  They went to the south east corner of our property where the apples trees are located on our neighbors lot.  The first night I found a single bear scat but the 2nd night there were 5 additional piles of scat.   Today there is a total of 8 piles of scat.  Don't know if I missed a couple the 2nd day or not.

In any case, there was a juvenile [?] visiting across the street at noon several days ago.  The bear was eating the apples out of a wheelbarrow and climbed a tree on the property.  Eventually the bear came down and headed SW toward the forest--I presume.

A couple of weeks ago a bear visited the apple orchard on the property directly behind us as evidenced by the scat left on the scene.  I don't think it has visited there since, as we think it got all the apples and moved on to the other neighbors yard.

[in my dreams]

O.k, and the number of who we're supposed to call? Cuz the baby bear is eating pears in my backyard right now.  No zoom lens 

[lagomorphmom]

O.k, and the number of who we're supposed to call? Cuz the baby bear is eating pears in my backyard right now.  No zoom lens 

As unfortunately stated above, if you call DFG, they will probably euthanize the bear. Bears are not 'rehomed'.

Are the pears mature enough that you could strip the tree?

[in my dreams]

The pears are almost ripe.  I'll clean the trees (apples too.)  A local fish and game employee up here is trying to chase it back into the wash and up into the forest.  Chase, taze. . . paintballs may be in its future. . . aversion techniques.  He seemed a little lethargic ('til he was freaked out)--I don't know if he's healthy.  Someone else saw him in a neighbor's backyard and thought he should be a little more active.  But we don't know bears. . .

[free2bee]

Would Forever Wild house the little bear? If someone could catch it.

[sage]

Can we just let it eat pears and apples to fatten up for his winter hibernation? Its a baby, without a mother, who's trying to survive. If Fish and Game can chase it into the forest that would be great, but I would sure be saddened and angry if they caught it and put it to sleep. Poor thing lost his mother and its not his fault. He's doing the best he knows how.

[free2bee]

Just concerned about it being 'hunting season'.

[in my dreams]

Well, I think the problem is the bear is becoming habituated to people. He's boldly foraging  in people's yards in broad daylight. If this continues, it will ultimately end badly for the bear and possibly people or pets.  I think its only chance for survival is to develop an aversion to people and their fruit trees. . .

[Mrs. Hillbilly]

But we don't know bears. . .

I know bears!  And I owe it all to the "Gentle Ben" DVD series I recently watched. 
I'd be happy to field any questions.....

[SoCalGal]

I'm no expert, but I agree that the little guy should stay away from humans......even leaving food out in the forest is no good; he would smell the human scent on it and again learn that humans will give him food.  Unfortunately Nature might decide that he won't survive.  But if left alone, he just may make it; I sure hope so.

Press-Enterprise article from today's news:
http://blog.pe.com/environment/2012/10/25/wildlife-facing-a-bear-dont-act-like-prey/

In case you encounter his cousins, who were formerly cute little cubs themselves.

[in my dreams]

I know bears!  And I owe it all to the "Gentle Ben" DVD series I recently watched. 
I'd be happy to field any questions.....

 

(Thanks for lightening a depressing situation!)

[in my dreams]

On a brighter note, the Fish and Game employee came by today to make his official report and the bear is the right size/age to be out on its own--mamma kicked him out.  And of course foraging for fruit is a normal behavior, just have to teach it not to do it in town.

Here's hoping. . .

[Mrs. Hillbilly]

My oldest daughter and I were on a jog 30 minutes ago at the top of mtn view.  Cutting across the wash over to cardinal, we saw the little guy trotting down the wash.  It stopped and looked back at us for few seconds and then continued down the wash along H2.  We headed the opposite direction in case momma bear had returned.   

[Mrs. Hillbilly]

On a brighter note, the Fish and Game employee came by today to make his official report and the bear is the right size/age to be out on its own--mamma kicked him out.  And of course foraging for fruit is a normal behavior, just have to teach it not to do it in town.

Here's hoping. . .

That's good news.  I just hope he heads to higher ground and stays clear of H2....

[tlc]

In My Dreams - I don't get why you called Fish and Wildlife Dept. to come out. I wrote that I was told by their department that they would most like capture it and kill it and posted that information. Do you know something I don't?

[in my dreams]

TLC, The day before, F & W (a local resident) was going door-to-door because the bear was believed to be in one of our yards.  A woman came face to face with the bear on her deck, it approached her and then ran away.  (All the dogs around here were going nuts for quite a while, so they thought it was still here.).  I ended up calling someone who had the presence of mind to ask for the F & W guy's card and got his number.

I don't disagree with the F & W's efforts of trying to make it afraid of people.  I think since it is so young, it might actually work.  (I didn't think the guy was going to catch it and kill it yesterday.) When you consider towns with bear problems (Mammoth for one), I think leaving it be, to forage among homes, is a recipe for disaster.

I suppose I could have made a lot of noise and scared it away.  But even a 50 lb yearling could cause me some damage if it saw its only escape as through me.  I once had a feral 4 pound house cat who had nearly given me stitches, so maybe I'm a little too sensitive to the power of fear and anger in a creature with sharp teeth and claws. . .

The long term is on my mind.  If he becomes habituated to people from youth, he's not going to be a night time marauder fishing through trash cans.  He's going to be out and about in the daytime.  The kids here play outside all the time. We live on a tight little cul de sac with a 2 yr old, a 3 yr old,  I think a 4 yr old and a 5 yr old, a 7 yr old, an 8 yr old, and 3 frequent visitors who walk up to play in that age range, and a 4 or 5 yr old weekender.  Plus occasional other young visitors. Little children are notorious for their lack of common sense.  This mama bear was thinking of these kids' safety (as well as the aforementioned).
 

[Wrightwood]

Sounds like there's some confusion on who is being contacted.

US Fish and Wildlife Service is a Federal Agency
California Department of Fish And Game (CA DFG) (handles Fishing & Hunting for the entire state and that includes the bear population)

[Wrightwood]