Sierra Madre residents are catching bears looking for food in their homes, cars and porches as many of them come out of their hibernations.
The hungry animals have been seen breaking into homes, nibbling on someone’s chicken, bravely chewing on car seats and even having some tea on a homeowner’s back porch.
“There are no limits,” resident Catherine Adde said. “They don’t recognize boundaries.”
Adde and her fellow Sierra Madre citizens have been meeting for “bear meetings” to brainstorm how to keep the San Gabriel Mountains’ foraging animals off their property and within their boundaries.
“If we can frustrate them in their attempts to find food, then they will go away,” resident Diane Sands said.
The problem of wandering bears prompted city leaders to consider a resolution urging the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to create and improve policies to create a more sustainable black bear population in the San Gabriel Valley. Management analyst James Carlson said the city received 130 calls about bears last year, an increase of about 20 percent from 2021. Compared to the 1980s and 1990s, the number of bears spotted has grown exponentially in recent decades.
“The concern has increased quite dramatically in recent years,” Carlson said. “The bears also seem to be a little bolder for the first time.”
Resident John Wiedemen, who was mauled by a bear during a camping trip in 2019, suggested hunting black bears.
“Make a policy that would eliminate the entire urbanized bear population in our foothill communities,” said former Sierra Madre Mayor Glenn Lambdin.
Lambdin added that she has had a terrifying encounter with two bears that broke into her home. He said the city’s three square miles have had more bear encounters and attacks than any other area in the state, including bears that roamed onto school campuses.
“It’s only a matter of time before one of these kids gets maimed, probably at lunchtime when they want to eat,” Lambdin said.
The city suggested a solution to further encourage bear hazing, which involves scaring them away with bells and horns. They are also rolling out bear-resistant trash cans.
KCAL-News Staff
