Last week law enforcement responded to a Hangtown neighborhood with reports of a woman screaming. It turned out to be a female Mountain Lion. Apparently screaming is normally gender related in the Mt. Lion community. This lion was rather close to the downtown and was killed by law enforcement. For those who are not familiar with Hangtown it is call Placerville, California now days. But during the gold rush it earned the name Hangtown. The town is East of Sacramento and is no longer a rural community. There are old homes and new homes all over the place.
It is time for the Black Bears to come out of hibernation. In many locations in California if the bears hibernate they can pop out into a rather mellow climate most of the year. In comparison with the Northern Rockies or the Peace River Country of Canada. But not this year. Many mountaintops in Northern California recorded over twenty feet of snowfall in March alone. That has kept the food source; better know as deer down low. And the natural feed is covered with snow. We went from a February heat wave to a wet March and April. Most areas in the North State recorded twenty-five days of rain or snow in the month of March. The first part of April has been wet. We are ready for warm weather.
The bear family alarm clocks are going off. Once they push out of their den they are going to be looking for a meal. One place they can find a meal is in the foothill and mountain communities. One can expect a lot of problems with bears around Lake Tahoe, a traditional problem area. But other homes along the Klamath, Trinity, and Salmon River need to be prepared for a visit. And the Serria foothills will see bear problems. Years ago a friend had a bear enter his screened in back porch near the Klamath. He keeps a deep freeze on the porch full of deer meat, fish, and bear. Not a smart place for a bear to raid.
On the serious side if you plan on visiting a campground in the next few months expect bear problems and setup your camp accordingly. Do not store your food in your car. A bear will destroy your car in a very short time. You might want to stop at your local sporting goods store and buy a can of Bear Spray. It is effective, and it is far safer to use in a crowded campground. Do not pre-treat your ice chest with it. It does not work that way and the bear thinks it is hot sauce. In Alaska the bears have eaten a lot of pre-treated items.
Bears in Southern California are looking forward to the recreation season. When the snow starts melting in the high country of the Angeles, and San Bernardino National Forest the campers arrive with their ice chest, and fill the garbage cans and bins. The bears will be there to take advantage of the food source. Rumour has it that these bears are transplants from the National Parks back in the 1930's. These bears came with training and have years of experience. A few years ago the campgrounds at Chilao and Buckhorn were closed because of bear encounters. I have included a DFG list of bear incidents. Do to a number of reasons this list and many DFG wildlife incidents are not complete. The lack of Fish and Game people on the ground is one reason. Many incidents are handled by Sheriffs Departments, Forest Service and BLM employees without Fish and Game involvement. The head quarters for the F&G in Southern California are in Long Beach. A long way from bear country, but slightly closer to Orange Country Lion Country.
http://www.sbnfa.org/Main_Lookout/images/Vetter02.jpghttp://www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/bear/habitat.html http://www.dfg.ca.gov/news/news03/bear_incidents.html
