Bear in the neighborhood

[scmhogg]

This was in the local paper today:

"Authorities sedated and captured a bear Tuesday afternoon after it was seen on a hill near some Simi Valley homes, officials said.

At 2:46 p.m., the Simi Valley Police Department received a report of a bear in the area of the 3100 block of Geronimo Street, authorities said.

In a prepared statement, police said they located the bear in the yard of a home. The area was cordoned off, and residents were told to stay inside."

This is a couple of blocks away from my house. I wasn't home at the time, so I missed out on all the fun. I live in an area called the Indian Hills, all the streets are named after Native American Tribes.

The area is adjacent to a wild area on one side and a golf course on the other. We have had our share of wildlife. We have Coyotes nightly, dozens of Quail live in my tree at night. Occasional Deer and a Badger. First Bear.

We are having a very dry spell, even for us out here.

Steve

[Ed62]

That could have been pretty exciting, if you were home. I'm guessing the area you live in has encroched on land previously the home of animals? It's happening all over the world.

Ed

[JR]

Yikes, Steve! Pretty scary. We had one down the block last year. Naturally, I was away at the time, so LOML pretty upset.

Ed, Steve's place would be at the very edge of traditional bear country, even before 39 million people arrived in the state. His sub-division was built 25-30 years ago, so bears haven't been there in a while. OTOH, the planners in this area take great pains to create wildlife migration corridors all the way to the ocean, so this kind of thing can sometimes happen.

JR

[Ed62]

Well, maybe he just didn't have his GPS with him at the time.

Ed

[cabinetman]

Living in the woods, it's great. It's the natural order of things. Wildlife make life interesting. BTW, speaking of wildlife, there's this blonde that lives down at the end of my street...
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[andrew.r.w]

What kind of bear? Probably a black bear.

In this area, central BC, bears are pretty common. I often see bears on the way home and they hang around outside the building where I work. Walking to your car can get exciting. These bears are habituated to people and their garbage, which makes them more dangerous if anything.

One year upwards of 50 bears were removed from neighbourhoods around this city. Lately, grizzlies have been spotted in town. Now if a black bear gets your heart rate up to say 250, a grizzly will definitely red line you. They are not necessarily bigger, but the bring out the fear in most people.

Now let's hear from someone in Alaska. Kodiaks are the real deal, as are Polar bears.

Andrew

[LinuxRandal]

"Authorities sedated and captured a bear Tuesday afternoon after it was seen on a hill near some Simi Valley homes, officials said.

In a prepared statement, police said they located the bear in the yard of a home. The area was cordoned off, and residents were told to stay inside."

This is a couple of blocks away from my house. I wasn't home at the time, so I missed out on all the fun. I live in an area called the Indian Hills, all the streets are named after Native American Tribes.

What kind of bear?

I am going to guess, Running Bear? Wonder if the cops got Little White Dove too, and sent her back to the reservation also.

Johnny Preston reference for those of you who know.

[Warren]

Here's one from Alaska. I get a few black bears traveling through the porperty every summer, two so far this year. This time of year they are on the prowl for moose calves. I fear the black bear more than the brown. Browns are usually only a threat when guarding a kill or cubs. They usually shy away from people except in deer hunting areas where they look on the hunter as the caterer. Guys hunting on Kodiak Island are lucky if the bears let them keep 1 out of 3 downed deer. But, the griz usually keeps his distance from civilized areas.

The black bear is cool to watch, but as entertaining as they can be, they are very unpredictable. They will kill for fun, in spite of what the "experts" say (as do wolves), will attack unprovoked, are used to people and understand that homes mean garbage, bird feed and other assorted tasty treats, such as dogs chained to trees or in fenced runs. The can climb up on your deck in a second and do not back off. On my part of the hillside, blck bears are just big, black rats. Pests, dangerous pests.

The old polar bear will hunt the hunter, ain't scared of anything and will regularly enter towns to prowl the dumps. As unpredictable as the black bear and a heck of lot bigger. They seem to readily adapt to humans like the black bear.

I have spent many an hour sitting on the deck with the shotgun while the wife works in her gardens when it is known that a bear is in the area. I guess it's a little like living in a tornado prone area. Life goes on, but you keep one eye on the sky and ear to the radio. It's all what you're used to.

[scorrpio]

How things changed. A mere 40 years ago, USA spread propaganda that Russians got bears walking in the streets.

Now, Russians trashed ecology so bad a bear can't survive within 50 miles of a town there - but USA got them walking in the streets.