A black bear and her two cubs have been spotted in the Saddle Peak and Old Topanga areas. We haven’t received confirmation yet on whether this bear is BEAR #2291 (a.k.a. BB14), the young female who made several visits to the area last year, but odds are good that she has returned, bringing her cubs with her.
Martyn Lenoble is a Topanga resident and wildlife expert. He’s worked extensively in the field not only with black bears but with grizzlies and wolves. “I’m excited about it!” he told Topanga New Times. “If we can all be bear-aware, having them [in the Topanga area] can make our lives a little richer.”
Being bear-aware means taking some extra precautions. Topanga residents are encouraged to supervise young children and pets, and make sure trash cans are secure and that food isn’t left outside. Bears are smart and they have a highly developed sense of smell. Bears are omnivores with the ability to eat almost anything and an unfortunate taste for human food. They are quick to learn where to find garbage cans, outdoor kitchen areas, and pet food dishes that are potential sources of food. Lenobel said he has seen several places in the canyon where garbage containers have been accessed. Keeping cans secured is essential.
Bears are also attracted to fruit trees, beehives, chicken coops, and even snacks or wrappers left behind in an unlocked vehicle. The best way to be a good neighbor to these new residents is to ensure they don’t have access to food or garbage. Feed pets inside, fully clean up outdoor kitchen areas, and make sure all food, garbage, and even recyclables are cleared up and safely stored.
Be aware that bears can be attracted to bird feeders and also to fruit trees, vegetable gardens, and beehives. They are also sometimes attracted to pools, ponds, and water features. It’s important to stay alert, and pay attention while in the garden, on the trail, or exiting the house or car. It’s a good idea to make sure vehicle and house doors and windows are shut and locked. Bears are good at figuring out how to open doors.
While walking in bear country, dogs should be kept on a non retractable leash and not allowed to interact with bears.
The organization Bearwise offers the following advice: If you see a bear before it notices you, don’t approach. Stand still, enjoy, then quietly move away. If a bear sees you, back away slowly. Never run; running may trigger a chase response. If a bear approaches, hold your ground, wave your arms and yell “Hey bear” until it leaves. Always stay with your group. If it keeps approaching, use bear spray. During a bear encounter it’s important to stay calm.
Lenobel points out that bears can move extremely fast. ”Even when a bear seems to be walking slowly, a human would have to jog to keep up,” he said.
The goal is to avoid a confrontation by staying calm, and giving the bear plenty of space. “Let bears know you are human,” he told TNT. “Talk. Make yourself big. If you are in a group, huddle together.”
Bear spray, a type of pepper spray designed specifically to deter bears during an encounter, is readily available at sporting goods stores and online, but the goal is to never end up close enough to a bear to require using it. Always give a bear plenty of space. This is not the time for a selfie.
While bears are big and powerful animals with few natural predators, they are still extremely vulnerable to vehicle strikes. It’s important to stay alert while driving. BB-12, our previous black bear resident was killed by a vehicle strike while trying to cross the 101 on his way back out of the Santa Monica Mountains and into the Simi Hills.
Bears are intelligent, quick to learn, surprisingly fast for their size and bulk, and extremely powerful, but they are also peace-loving and want only to be left alone to live. In the Santa Monica Mountains, these new arrivals have the potential to fill the ecological niche left by the California grizzly, extinct for a hundred years, but only if we can learn to adapt to their presence. Topangans are historically passionate about coexisting with wildlife. Having bears back for the first time in a hundred years is a blessing and a responsibility. It’s up to all of us to be good hosts for our new neighbors.
For more information on how to coexist with bears, visit bearwise.org
For a history of bears in the local area, check out the Bear Truth, also by TNT editor Suzanne Guldimann
In less than a year the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing will open, giving ready access to the Santa Monica Mountains for large mammals like mountain lions and black bears, as well as new groups of coyotes, but we in Topanga Canyon may also be visited by highly destructive packs of wild pigs. I used to buy organic apples at the Calabasas Farmers Market from a regional orchard north of Topanga until they started losing most of their apple crop to wild pigs. The pigs dug under their fences and stripped fruit from the trees. I can buy strap-type locks for our family’s trash cans to keep out wildlife, but I suspect our fruit trees and grapevines will be vulnerable. And if you are thinking of buying a secure cover for your hot tub, now is the time.
Biologists have estimated that the North American black bear population is expected to almost triple over time.
Change of subject: In the future, our local newspapers, the LADPH or a California state agency should educate residents in California mountain communities of their medical risk if they become exposed to wildlife carrying potentially fatal diseases like hantavirus, plague (Yersinia pestis), or (per the UCLA School of Public Health) incurable bacterial infections that can be carried in raccoon droppings. Here is one environmental map from a California state agency:
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/HantavirusPulmonarySyndrome.aspx
Note that their current photos show gray mice, not the deer mice which are the actual carriers of hantavirus. Deer mice have a more brownish color with body striping like that of a baby deer.