It’s no secret that bears live in Los Angeles County, but this week one local foothill community got more than its average bear.
Sierra Madre, at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains, got some high-profile visits from Ursus americanus.
On Wednesday morning, a woman in a home just down the street from City Hall discovered a bear that had apparently found its way to some mangos before being politely removed by California Department of Fish and Wildlife and police officials, who had issued a warning for residents to avoid the area.
No harm no foul, right? Bear encounters are not unusual in these parts.
But the very next day, not far away, in the city’s restaurant district, a mama bear and her two cubs caused a lunchtime stir as they ambled near the patios of the restaurants along Sierra Madre Boulevard. The bears were non-aggressive and continued moving as police alerted the family to change direction as onlookers moved inside.
The sightings came after residents had shown up Tuesday to a City Council meeting to sound off on what has been a pronounced spike in bear sightings in recent months.
In all of 2022, the city was notified of 130 bear encounters. This year, from January to last week, the calls had almost tripled to 303. And sightings went to 307 as of Thursday.
Thankfully, neither human nor bear injuries have occurred in the recent sightings. But the sightings have raised questions on topics ranging from public safety to bear habitat in Los Angeles County.
Officials say education on bears is a good first step. In that spirit, we reached out to California Department of Fish and Wildlife, we spoke to CDFW Human-Wildlife Conflict Specialist Specialist Jessica West, and looked back into our archive to get some answers on bears in the region. Here’s some Black Bear 101.
What kind of bears are we talking about here, and how dangerous are they?
Even though they are large and it may be concerning to see them in residential areas, black bears — the…
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