Bear-y good neighbors: humans and animals are learning to live together in an expanding LA

As communities on the outskirts of LA grow, bears are being drawn to residents’ pools, chicken coops, fruit trees and trashcans. Photograph: Poolbearlife via Instagram

Every year, as summer draws to a close and fall begins, California’s bears get hungry.

Black bears have long roamed the state, hunting for acorns, ants and pine nuts by the bucketload to pack on calories before hibernation. But increasingly, for every berry and root, there’s an even greater temptation: our trash and the detritus of human existence.