Global Courant 2023-04-13 08:05:05
Bear sightings inside Sierra Madre have increased in recent years, and city officials say they want the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to change its approach to wildlife in the foothill community.
When Sierra Madre residents report a bear on their property, the Sierra Madre Police Department must contact the Department of Fish and Wildlife to respond to the incident unless there is an imminent threat to a human.
Sierra Madre police responded to 130 calls about black bears entering residential areas in 2022, Captain Henry Amos said at a city council meeting Tuesday. He said those calls included 17 incidents of bears breaking into homes and causing property damage.
There have been a dozen bear-related calls since January, including five in which bears tried to set up a den in a home’s crawl space, Amos said.
City officials plan to vote this month on a proclamation that would urge the state to update or improve its policies for a sustainably managed bear population.
“The intent is to show the state that current policies are not working for Sierra Madre,” said city manager Jose Reynoso.
According to city analyst James Carlson, four “bear-human interactions” have been reported in and around the city limits in the past decade. But, he said, “he wouldn’t necessarily call them attacks.”
In 2016, a resident of Sierra Madre was hospitalized after being attacked by a bear on a hiking trail.
Human-bear interactions have increased over the past four years, with more people reporting bears foraging for food and breaking into homes, city officials said.
The bears appear emboldened and have caused property damage and eaten livestock.
“I let bears eat my chickens,” Mayor Edward Garcia said at the council meeting.
Sierra Madre plans to release bear-proof garbage cans to deter hungry bears, but not just in busy areas of the city. Officials don’t want to push hungry bears further south if they encounter an unbreakable garbage can, Reynoso said.
The city worked with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to address the issue with residents of the canyon area letting them know if their garbage cans are not properly secured or pet food has been left out.
Mackenzie Rich, a specialist in human-wildlife conflict in the Department of Fish and Wildlife, said a bear’s nose is 100 times more sensitive than a human’s nose, and that bears can put a bag of fast food in a locked car. or sniffing cooked food in a kitchen.
“They’re very good at abusing what we call those unsecured attractants,” she said of unattended food. What residents see is typical black bear behavior, Rich added.
If one encounters a bear in the wild, it’s best to step back with hands on hips and allow the bear an open escape route, Rich said. The same goes for a bear entering a house. Leave the windows and doors open and let the bear find its way out, she added.
But these wild animals may be more hungry than the average guest.
“Suppose the animal comes to you and doesn’t flinch. It comes straight at you. Then you’d want to grow up and be loud and scream and wave your arms in the air,” Rich said. “Make a lot of noise and try to say to the animal, ‘Hey! I’m sorry, you have to leave!’”
