Humans are building homes closer to the forest in southern California, and bears are putting their foot, or their paw, down.
Residents in Sierra Madre, a city neighboring the more than 700,000-acre (283,280-hectare) Angeles national forest, have had black bears break into their homes, cars and yards.
It’s also no coincidence that residents in the area might be seeing more bears as winter approaches, since bears are getting ready for hibernation.
“They’re frankly just seeking food, water or shelter and, when they find it, it’s not uncommon for them to either stay for a while or return on a fairly regular basis,” said Tim Daly, a public information officer with the California department of fish and wildlife.
“This is the time of year that this activity tends to pick up because bears tend to fatten up for the winter.”
The Sierra Madre deputy city manager, Laura Aguilar, said a number of mitigation efforts have been implemented, including providing bear-resistant trash cans for residents as bears tend to dig into trash for food.
“We get coyotes, deer and the occasional mountain lion, so it’s not unusual to see wildlife because we’re at the base of the foothills,” Aguilar said.
Daly said bears are capable of getting through open doors and open windows, and of opening car doors. Bears have heightened eyesight and hearing, and their sense of smell is seven times greater than that of a bloodhound.
“These animals are considered smart,” Daly said. “They’re considered to have good memories of where they’ve been successful getting food or water or shelter.”
This was the impression of Susan and Bob Nesler, residents in Sierra Madre, who have had a frequent furry visitor in their home for more than two weeks.
A black bear has been entering their home daily through an open crawl space and leaving at night. The couple are working with California officials to block the space using a bear-resistant metal screen. The wildlife agency installed a camera to monitor the bear’s movements, helping them track its schedule and plan the best time to install the screen.
“He’s a good bear. He doesn’t hurt anybody,” Bob Nesler said.
“We have a lot of bears here in Sierra Madre, and I’ve heard of bears going into people’s homes and raiding their refrigerators, but he hasn’t done anything like that.
“He’s been very polite, a real gentleman.”
Still, Daly encourages people to take preventative measures to protect their homes, including closing up crawl spaces and making sure garbage cans are secure.
“If you have a fruit tree in your yard, make sure you pick up fruit that’s falling on the ground,” he said. “Make sure you don’t leave pet food out at night.”
It’s not just Sierra Madre. Communities near the forest, including Altadena and Monrovia, are no strangers to bear sightings.
Daly said that as humans move in closer to the forest, more animals will appear in residents’ homes.
“As humans, we like having our homes up against the mountains, close to nature, higher with views available,” he said. “As we keep building into what used to be wild areas, nature areas that did not have any homes, it’s not surprising that these people would then have an increase in sightings.”
The black bear population in California has also seen an upward tick in recent years, jumping from 10,000 to 15,000 in the early 1980s to between 25,000 and 30,000 in early 2024.
This tendency also coincides with the number of bear sightings in Los Angeles county.
In 2017, California registered 28 bear sightings in the county. In 2023, that number rose to 455.
Daly recommends not attacking a bear once a person is face-to-face with it.
“Turning and running is a bad idea. With a lot of wildlife things, that might trigger their response to chase,” he said.
Instead, he said people should slowly turn and back away from any wildlife they might confront. He also stressed that black bears are not dangerous, and it’s rare for a bear to attack someone.
“It might take a swat at you, but bears don’t seek us to attack us or to harm us,” Daly said.
