Lake County is well known for its abundance of wildlife. A trip on the back roads often reveals deer, bobcats and even the occasional mountain lion. Lately bears have been showing up in urban areas. During last week’s Fish and Wildlife Advisory Council meeting the local game wardens reported receiving calls from local residents about bears getting into their garbage and creating a nuisance.
According to Department of Fish and Wildlife (DWF) game warden Tim Little, there are good reasons bears are showing up in backyards. They include a rapid increase in bear population and the drought, which has created a scarcity of food in the woods. That scarcity means the bears are looking for food and garbage cans are readily available.
The wild bear population in California currently stands at approximately 35,00 animals and growing. In 1983 the state’s bear population was only about 18,000 animals. Bears can be hunted and the DFW allows 1,700 animals to be taken. In 2014 hunters took only 450 animals. One reason for the reduced take is because the use of dogs for hunting bears was outlawed two years ago. The other reason is that there are just fewer people hunting in California.
One of the areas where bears have been showing up in greater numbers is from Nice to Clearlake Oaks. Recently a woman who lives in Lucerne reported walking out on her porch one morning only to find a bear swimming around in her pool. Two bears also were seen near downtown Lakeport walking through the mobile home park at 1800 S. Main Street.
According to the DFW, black bears are large-bodied animals with small, narrow heads, powerful limbs and small ears. They vary in color from tan or brown to black. Typically they are dark brown with a brown muzzle and occasionally a small white chest patch. Adult females weigh 100-200 pounds whereas adult males are larger, between 150-350 pounds, though a few weighing as much as 600 pounds have been taken by hunters in California.
Black bears have five toes, each with a well-developed claw, on both front and hind feet. Their teeth are adapted for feeding on both plant and animal matter. Black bears are very good climbers and will quickly scale a tree to avoid a predator if they cannot outrun it. They are extremely strong and have been known to rip off a car door to get at the food inside.
Bears commonly consume ants and other insects in the summer but prefer nut crops, especially acorns and manzanita berries in the fall. As omnivores, black bears will eat whatever seems edible. Mostly they are plant eaters but they have been known to catch and consume fawns. Bears frequently adapt to human presence, often because bears are attracted to human garbage, pet food and other food items. Once a bear gets used to raiding garbage cans it’s nearly impossible to get rid of it.
The DFW’s policy on nuisance bears that destroy property or pose a threat to humans is not to trap and relocate them — because that’s just moving the problem — but to put them down.
Bears can be a threat to humans although there have been only 11 confirmed attacks on humans in California since 1983. The DFW says an attack is when a bear actually touches a human, not just growling, or makes an aggressive advance toward a human. If a bear threatens you the DFW’s advice is to stand up and wave your arms and shout at it. Normally the bear will run. The old adage of playing dead if a bear attacks doesn’t apply to black bears.
You‘re allowed to legally kill a bear without a permit if it threatens you or another human or threatens livestock or pets. If you feel threatened by a bear call 911 immediately and report it to law enforcement authorities.
According to the DFW, the best way to keep bears off your property is to remove all garbage and dog food. Many residents put out their garbage cans the night before they are picked up by the disposal company. Since a bear can smell garbage and other food from a mile away, it’s an open invite for the bear to come foraging.
Bears are part of your local wildlife and we don’t want them destroyed. By using a little common sense we can keep them wild and in the woods where they belong.
