A bear near Sebastopol

[Cattlekids]

I don't believe they relocate bears now. In Lake Tahoe they have just been shooting them :( In Mammoth they have a bear program that realy helped by mandatory bear proof trash storage and other bear aware programs and this cut the human bear interactions down a lot and forced the bears to seek wild food instead of go urban with trash. It is entirely up to State Dept of Fish and Game if bears are trapped or darted and relocated.

This sounds good. What if we pledged funds now, to be used when or if bear is relocated? If we said we have x # of dollars to donate maybe that would make a difference.
I wonder what a relocation might cost?
I pledge to donate some $'s.

Joy

[Cattlekids]

In 1999 there were bears raiding the trash at Ocean Song. With a male bear ranging up to 50 square miles and female up to 25 square miles it was only a matter of time I thought that bears would be making a big appearance in West County. Last year there were reports of a mom and two older cubs in our area but they were apparently not as often seen. Now there are reports surfacing all over our area and we have signings right here, near Silala/Jonive & Bodega highway. I am guessing but it's probable that mom has run the 2 year olds off and they are trying to make a living in a very sparse territory for bears. Moms usually do this when they have their next litter. There is so much forest falling to vines and other projects and that is taking up very vital habitat for them. The rotten logs, fungus, grubs, small mammels, etc. that they would normally seek don't exist in vineyards and homes. So they are going for trash, compost piles, koi ponds, pets, livestock. Even the 200 acres slated for the sewage treatment pond in Occidental is potential bear supporting habitat, but that looks like another amount lost.

It is a very good idea to get the word out to west county about the bears, about living safely with bears and keeping livestock and pets safe. Also to minimize contact with them especially with trash and compost, chicken coops, fish ponds, goats, etc. It could be necessary to even hotwire coops and pens to discourage predation. Bears are omnivores and they do hunt and prey on small mammels especially when hungry and they look hungry. They are not fat well fed bears. They are skinny, and their coats are not in that great of shape. Also they are out in broad daylight - that is very concerning. They should be attempting contact with human things in the cover of darkness but these bears are either fully accustomed to being out in daylight like this or they are desparate and hungry is driving them to unnatural behaviors.

I am very apprehensive for these bears and if they are going to make it. There may not be enough habitat to support them - this is something that really needs to be determined and I hope that any plans to take out forested areas in west county will be subject to accounting for bear residents along with other wildlife.

About two weeks ago, before we saw the bear (s) (it seems there are two similar but different ones sighted in our area) our dog was seriously injured. We don't know what it was but somehow she was sliced from her back to her belly. It was all we could do to get her to the er vet where thank goodness they could stabilize her and patch her up. She was hospitalized 14 days and just came home two days ago. The vets have never seen such a wound on a dog here and we have still been wondering. A bear knowledgeable friend told me she might have surprised a bear that took a swipe. We just don't know but there is no doubt this is a risk for all living here and to live with bears we must all be on board with taking precautions with our trash, pets and livestock. We have some boat air horns now out at stragic places on the property and pots/pans to bang in case we sight one the plan is scare the daylights out of it from coming this close to people. And hope and pray they will be able to make a living in the woods.

To our knowledge there are at least three bears in the area - mom and two young adult cubs. That means there's a daddy around somewhere too but their territories usually wouldn't overlap too much. There could be new cubs with mom as well.

[Cattlekids]

Wow! This is fascinating and exciting. It looks like all of our efforts in fighting for the environment are paying off.

I'd like to know how this bear got here and from where. It looks like a brown bear, not a black bear. Black bears are smaller, generally, than brown bears. Grizzlies, if I'm not mistaken, are a subgroup of brown bears but this doesn't look like a grizzly to me. The last California grizzly was was shot and killed in the 1920s.

Thanks for your post! Now I feel like I live in the wild somewhere.

They probably have repopulated from bears that were at Ocean Song area as early as 1999 or from above Cazadero etc. as there are many over there yet. There are so many vineyards and other destructions of forest land perhaps they have been forced out - or just naturally expanding. Hard to say for certain. Let's hope we can get some recognition for the fact they are here and have that factered into plans that would see forest cleared for any purpose. We have seen them here this week and scared them off in hopes they will be smarter about coming into populated areas, especially in broad daylight!

Don't forget there are also mountain lions among us too - and coyote, bobcat, badgers, weasles, etc.

[odeek9]

I don't believe they relocate bears now. In Lake Tahoe they have just been shooting them :( In Mammoth they have a bear program that realy helped by mandatory bear proof trash storage and other bear aware programs and this cut the human bear interactions down a lot and forced the bears to seek wild food instead of go urban with trash. It is entirely up to State Dept of Fish and Game if bears are trapped or darted and relocated.

The mandatory bear proof containers have been very effective in the Tahoe Basin. Unfortunately there just aren't enough of them.

I don't read all of the posts in their entirety, which is a mistake on my part, but I haven't heard of any sightings in the past few days. Am I correct? If so, my fervent hope is that whatever magical, amazing abilities that lie deep within an animal's psyche-innate, instinctive-have led the bears to migrate. They may be aware by now of the limited options to forage and hunt here as they normally would, perhaps even also sensing the dangers that lie before them in this immediate area.

Have they hopefully-though it would be wonderful if we as the "superior" members of a species could learn to coexist with our friends of the forest-traveled to more accepting and nourishing environs? I don't want to consider alternatives to their disappearance if, indeed, they have

[terijane]

I would love to pass them out to my kids at my preschool: Loving & Learning Center in Guerneville. One of my children had the bears (2) in his yard!
If you'd like to email me a copy (we also have hispanic families) I'll make copies here.
Thank you!
Teri

This is a great idea -you should give some also to 4c's main childcare office in Santa Rosa and Russian River childcare so all their providers can receive them for all the kids they care for all year around. And print them in spanish too. Looks like you will be busy!

[Chris Dec]

Hi Teri:

Expand

Read the text, and look for the crossed out words... I just put those business names in there as suggestions to anyone who would run with this idea and propose this way of supporting community to local businesses.

Doing that kind of selling to a bunch of businesses is a lot of work, so if that is too much effort for you, (honey sticks, fer crying out loud, what was I thinking?) and you just want a sheet that doesn't involve approaching businesses, just one to hand out as a way of educating both the kids and their parents, along with a note to keep kids safe... I can change it to a more generic version.

There is a flier called Color The Bears in printer's PDF for you to download at the following link, my own ftp site, from now until end of June.:

ftp://ftp.sonic.net/pub/users/winks/

When I get a Spanish translation, (I am writing my sister-in-law for a reliable translation tonight) I will put that one up and post here that it's up.

I would love to pass them out to my kids at my preschool: Loving & Learning Center in Guerneville. One of my children had the bears (2) in his yard!
If you'd like to email me a copy (we also have hispanic families) I'll make copies here.
Thank you!
Teri

[Lisa W]

Barry: How does one get off of a thread?? Getting 16 emails in my inbox about a subject I made 1 post to discourages me from wanting to comment on future posts. If there is an "unsubscribe" option for threads, please let us know Barry. I already get way more emails than I'd like. Nothing personal, just would rather read wacco commentary by going on the digest when/if I feel inclined.

Thank you very much. Lisa

[Barry]

Barry: How does one get off of a thread?? Getting 16 emails in my inbox about a subject I made 1 post to discourages me from wanting to comment on future posts. If there is an "unsubscribe" option for threads, please let us know Barry.

[mamaj]

A friend told me a bear was seen at Apple Blossom school and their was a lock down because of it. Is this true and when? I wonder if it is hanging out in the orchard.

[gypsey]

As I understand it,. the purpose of "coloring the bears" is to educate children about their re-emergence in our midst and how to prevent them from becoming attached to our human environment.
We all want them to return to natural food sources, but because they have such a strong sense of smell and find human smells such strong attractants (including cosmetic fragrances, by the way), we need to encourage them to return to their natural environment and food sources by taking away these temptations.
. Nobody is reporting them so they will be killed. But if we don't help them return to the wild before they become a nuisance, it is likely that they WILL be killed.
We may want to leave them alone, but because of our environmental attractants, they may not leave us alone.
This is the danger to their lives.

No I will NOT color the bears, I will wish them well finding their own natural food which includes berries and acorns. I hope I never see one beause reporting that could sign their death warrant. Go on with your lives as the bears will. Just leave them alone.

[rossmen]

my guess is the young bear(s) are dead (probably), or moved northwestish of the river. the mama bear might be pregnant and hanging out in her home in the willow creek watershed. nobody has mentioned the fairly recent change in hunting regulations for bears, no dogs allowed. there will be more bears looking for homes in cali. i don't think a landowner with a bear kill permit or the dfw would share bear kill news around here.

is there really space for bears in west county south of the river? i live north of sebtown east of 116 and have bees and chickens and goats and compost and plastic nb garbage cans. i have lived with bears elsewhere and have no fear of my ability to scare them away. but there is no place around here for them to go...(

[terijane]

Gypsey and Chris are right. As a teacher of all grades and now with my own preschool, I teach children to develop a relationship with all things living on this planet. Where would they (and we) be if humans hadn't started the "save the whales" campaign so many years ago? The guidelines on Chris's coloring page are an excellent way to learn to live with the bears, coexisting peacefully and safely. This won't happen by ignoring them or wishing they would just "go back to where they came from". Coloring pages are a learning tool for information, and Chris did a beautiful job on the page and generously shared them with us.

One of my favorite quotes at my center: "Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar." ~ Bradley Millar.

Teaching children to respect and relate to our natural world promotes the saving of our planet, and we need all the help we can get!

P.S. Just watched a scary/good Netflix movie: Surviving Progress, produced by Martin Scorsese. Please see it!

As I understand it,. the purpose of "coloring the bears" is to educate children about their re-emergence in our midst and how to prevent them from becoming attached to our human environment.
We all want them to return to natural food sources, but because they have such a strong sense of smell and find human smells such strong attractants (including cosmetic fragrances, by the way), we need to encourage them to return to their natural environment and food sources by taking away these temptations.
. Nobody is reporting them so they will be killed. But if we don't help them return to the wild before they become a nuisance, it is likely that they WILL be killed.
We may want to leave them alone, but because of our environmental attractants, they may not leave us alone.
This is the danger to their lives.

[peggykarp]

DFW biologist said bear population is expanding both in numbers and range and main cause is the ban on using dogs for hunting bears. The young bears here may be an example. Hope they made it across the river. I'm going to call DFW up to ask anyway.

nobody has mentioned the fairly recent change in hunting regulations for bears, no dogs allowed. there will be more bears looking for homes in cali.

[bodegahead]

The bears are still around, I talked to people yesterday that saw them late last week. Alot of people in the west county hill , who have lived with the bears, they just dont talk about it alot except to each other and there are least 4 bears including at least two adults. I heard a pretty good history yesterday of the west hills bear population and it`s growth and this is from people who have lived with them and seen the regularly for a good ten years.

[redheifer]

Perhaps not the same bear but this one was sited a few days ago ambling up Barnett Valley road about a quarter mile from Bodega Highway.

A similar (or same) bear was sighted on Tuesday by one of my neighbors at Barnett Valley Road and Burnside Road.

[Cattlekids]

I have to take exception to the comments about not hunting with dogs being related to the bear population increase and what we are seeing here in West County.

The reason why is the law against using dogs for hunting bear and bobcats was only just passed in 2012. There is just not enough time to evaluate whether there's an impact to bear population one way or another.
https://latimesblogs.latimes.com/cal...alifornia.html
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...n_2366614.html

The other reason is that DFG's own data shows the population has been on a slow but stead increase since 1991 (and before that as well).
https://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunt...nEstimates.pdf

https://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/hunt...opulation.html

Also, the only bear hunting (legal) that takes place in Sonoma County is north of Highway 128 and only for the later part of August/Sept

https://www.fgc.ca.gov/regulations/c...lregs.aspx#365
§365. Bear.

Except as provided in Section 366, bear may be taken only as follows:

• (a) Areas:
  
  • (1) Northern California: In the counties of Del Norte, Humboldt, Plumas, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity; and those portions of Lassen and Modoc counties west of the following line: Beginning at Highway 395 and the Sierra-Lassen county line; north on Highway 395 to the junction of Highway 36; west on Highway 36 to the junction of Highway 139; north on Highway 139 to Highway 299; north on Highway 299 to County Road 87; west on County Road 87 to Lookout-Hackamore Road; north on Lookout-Hackamore Road to Highway 139; north on Highway 139 to the Modoc-Siskiyou county line; north on the Modoc-Siskiyou county line to the Oregon border.
  • (2) Central California: In the counties of Alpine, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, El Dorado, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sierra, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba and those portions of Napa and Sonoma counties northeast of Highway 128. ...

I know the hunting information might be disturbing for some but the fact is if we want to know where bears are the ones that are hunting will know quite a lot.

It's important to note that if there is an increase in reports of bears or bear problems it will fuel those who are seeking to overturn the recent legislation and restore the use of dogs to hunting bear and bobcat.

Last year DFG closed the bear hunt 2-1/2 weeks early because more than 1,700 bears were taken in the state (less than half of that number were tracked by dogs btw). There is an "industry" for CA bear hunting
https://saova.org/CA_2012.html

I believe more than ever measures to have a peaceful coexistence with wildlife here, especially with bears, is important to more than just our local population. DFG logs all those bear calls. There seems no mystery of them now with the news paper articles -- would about a strategy to form a citizen's task force of some kind to raise awareness and knowledge? There are some communities that have taken the bull by the horns... or (bear by the paws?) and created community awareness and education centers and even bear tip hotlines.

[peggykarp]

Thanks for your correction. I may not have remembered the DFW comment correctly. I agree with all your excellent points.

I have to take exception to the comments about not hunting with dogs being related to the bear population increase and what we are seeing here in West County.

The reason why is the law against using dogs for hunting bear and bobcats was only just passed in 2012. There is just not enough time to evaluate whether there's an impact to bear population one way or another. ...

[bodegahead]

West county Bears seem to be an interesting bunch.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=521454884576316&set=a.444220348966437.120271.435085683213237&type=1&theater

I guess you need to be logged into Face Book to see this picture.

[Cattlekids]

Thanks for your correction. I may not have remembered the DFW comment correctly. I agree with all your excellent points.

Thanks Peggy, I did not mean to sound so correcting though. Thank you for your understanding. I have heard similar over the years and it could be your memory is fine.

Hoping no one gets hurt - people, pets, or bears.

[Ice Queen]

WE are in THEIR natural environment!!!

---

As I understand it,. the purpose of "coloring the bears" is to educate children about their re-emergence in our midst and how to prevent them from becoming attached to our human environment.
We all want them to return to natural food sources, but because they have such a strong sense of smell and find human smells such strong attractants (including cosmetic fragrances, by the way), we need to encourage them to return to their natural environment and food sources by taking away these temptations.
. Nobody is reporting them so they will be killed. But if we don't help them return to the wild before they become a nuisance, it is likely that they WILL be killed.
We may want to leave them alone, but because of our environmental attractants, they may not leave us alone.
This is the danger to their lives.

[gypsey]

Yes, you are right, we ARE in the bears' "natural environment". Unfortunately we invaded it and therefore altered it with artificial and very tempting behaviors and attractants of our own that are unsafe for the bears. Not just by killing them, but by creating powerful temptations that encourage behavior in the bears that is a danger to them and to us.

The color the bears poster and other postings by Peggy Karp & others and the Keep Us Wild campaign by the DFG don't deny what we humans have done. Rather, these efforts ask us to give the bears a chance by encouraging them to return to their remaining natural food sources and habitat. Fortunately these are still out there, though no doubt dwindling.

I'm most interested in how we can act to increase the bears' odds of survival in a county where hunting and other actions on our part led to them being declared at one time, extinct. In future postings I'll share with fellow Wacco readers how other states besides California, as well as Canada are handling the black bears' re-emergence.

WE are in THEIR natural environment!!!

---

[caspar]

[odeek9]

The bears are still around, I talked to people yesterday that saw them late last week. Alot of people in the west county hill , who have lived with the bears, they just dont talk about it alot except to each other and there are least 4 bears including at least two adults. I heard a pretty good history yesterday of the west hills bear population and it`s growth and this is from people who have lived with them and seen the regularly for a good ten years.

I suppose, for any number of reasons, the interest in the bear(s) has waned as of late-primarily due to the lack of exposure? -but my neighbor told me of 2 very recent sightings. It was difficult to get the details as we were calling back and forth from our homes approximately 200 feet apart, yet he has a friend who saw one in Camp Meeker a few days ago, and he saw one yesterday on the hillside just behind our homes in Monte Rio.

Perhaps there have been other recent occasions and folks have moved on in their interests, but I haven't and am pleased as punch that they are still alive as I feared that some fool had proved his manhood by ending their lives. Though it would have been preferable if they had migrated to a safer environment-wherever that may be-they continue to be with us for which I'm so very thankful.

[kinlinda]

"There are some communities that have taken the bull by the horns... or (bear by the paws?) and created community awareness and education centers and even bear tip hotlines."-Cattlekids 6/24

Is there anyone out there who wants to start a "Bear Hotline"? I'm not sure how to go about this, but I would think it would involve discussing how we could monitor the Bears' progress, and/or diminishing weight, if that appears to be a serious problem----Hopefully, people within the Bears' vicinity of activity will respond. I hope they survive. I have a relative who grew up near Fresno, and she said that farmers there used to have a dumping spot for rotting fruit-----and the bears would all come late down in the afternoon and eat the fruit, then go back up to the hills nearby. She said it kept them from invading people's homes. I thought this was a good solution to the problem. Why can't we help each other instead of everything being so "survival of the fittest" oriented?

[odeek9]

"There are some communities that have taken the bull by the horns... or (bear by the paws?) and created community awareness and education centers and even bear tip hotlines."-Cattlekids 6/24

Is there anyone out there who wants to start a "Bear Hotline"? I'm not sure how to go about this, but I would think it would involve discussing how we could monitor the Bears' progress, and/or diminishing weight, if that appears to be a serious problem----Hopefully, people within the Bears' vicinity of activity will respond. I hope they survive. I have a relative who grew up near Fresno, and she said that farmers there used to have a dumping spot for rotting fruit-----and the bears would all come late down in the afternoon and eat the fruit, then go back up to the hills nearby. She said it kept them from invading people's homes. I thought this was a good solution to the problem. Why can't we help each other instead of everything being so "survival of the fittest" oriented?

I don't know how I can help but I'm in if needed. Someone, near the beginning of this thread I believe, created an interactive map logging the bears' travels. If one person with the knowledge, and interest, of how to do this would volunteer a bit of their time it would be great. And with all of us having the capability of privately contacting this person with information re a sighting, the location , the time, the bear's condition, etc..

I have fears. Where have our friends gone? Despite the recent sightings by my neighbor, and his friend, anything else appears to be non-existent. I'd like to believe that the guys wised up-possibly via thoughtful yet negative experiences with humans (make sense? You know, aversion techniques) they are avoiding us. I try to do so, lol. But I just don't know (sigh)-they're so young and inexperienced and trying to survive in what has been a dry season which has impeded edible vegetation growth, affected insect cycles, fruits perhaps, etc. they may very well be famished and suffering. Or, most horribly and mentioned in my last post, that some cretin in an attempt to counteract lack of self esteem issues has committed the almost unthinkable.

Again, if the interest still exists and has not inexplicably lessened as often is our want, if there's anything that I can do I'm here. Btw, " survival of the fittest" is a concept at times of interest to me. This may be out to lunch but if I place myself, sans any equipment, devices, etc. not created by me but others throughout the ages, and my nitwit Beagle Odee out in any remote, wilderness setting I wonder who is the "fittest" and survives the longest. Me- the "superior" human? Just a thought.

[Barry]

I don't know how I can help but I'm in if needed. Someone, near the beginning of this thread I believe, created an interactive map logging the bears' travels.

The post with the interactive map is here. Looks like it has been updated!

[Tinque]

I was at a store recently and the girl at the counter was super excited because someone had got some pictures developed and she had some of the bear in her yard. The girl at the counter had asked permission to make a copy which she did. It is a sweet picture of the , or one of the bears. I was happy to get a glance at the picture and see it was healthy and on a mission it seems..I would think that one could get easily distracted with everything in ones path..

[redheifer]

The map doesn't yet show the sightings on Barnett Valley Road and Burnside on June 18 and another the next day or so on Barnett Valley about 3/4 mile from Bodega Highway. There are pictures of both.

[spam1]

Now it's along Green Valley Rd near Mt. Gilead

[odeek9]

now it's along green valley rd near mt. Gilead

yea!!!!