Marin's wayward bear wanders on
MARIN COUNTY, Calif. - Bear sightings seem to be increasing. Part of it may just be all the multiple security cameras people have installed in homes. Part of it may be more people moving into the urban-wildland interface.
But another part of it is that there are upwards of three times the bear population in California since the early 1980’s. This famous video of a bear sniffing around a north San Rafael home, is one of three videos posted on the Nextdoor app in recent days.
This is the latest, captured less than a mile away and a couple hours earlier in Lucas Valley. Loree Ades has lived here since childhood. "I went on thinking, "Huh, I wonder if there's a bear on my camera." I did not expect to see that."
Apparently the same bear also shows up on a Larkspur camera. Wildcare, the wildlife rescue, hospital and education non-profit has received many calls." It is a very, very rare thing for a black bear to be seen in our area, especially in the populated areas of Marin," said Alison Hermance of DiscoverWildcare.org.
Terra Linda, the northern part of San Rafael has 7,000 residents.
Black bear caught on camera in San Rafael to homeowners surprise
There was a bit of a surprise for one homeowner in Marin County when a young black bear was spotted slowly walking right through her yard. The bear was seen in the Terra Linda area of San Rafael. The woman says her family has lived in the home for 40 years and that there has never been a bear sighting until early Tuesday morning.
"The months between May and July are the months when the juvenile bears from last year are basically kicked out of their mom's territory," said Wildcare’s Hermance.
That sends the bear out looking for its own domain; sometimes with populated areas. But, says Wildcare, the bear is highly unlikely to be aggressive. "A black bear is an animal that is actually a very shy animal. He's an animal that really want to avoid people," said Hermance.
Unless cornered or threatened, it is likely that it will run away. Bears will fight to protect cubs which appears unlikely here.
Beyond garbage, bears will try to find food in barbecue grills, fallen fruit and bird feeders. That presents the greatest danger; not to humans, but to what is legally declared to be a so-called 'conflict bear.' "That's when this bear will start interacting with humans, interacting with our pets, getting himself in trouble and, indeed in every way, that is when an animal ends up in trouble and ends up being euthanized," said Hermance.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says 40 years ago, California's bear population had dwindled to no more than 10,000 to 15,000. Today it conservatively estimates there are as many as 40,000.
So, expect more sightings in the urban-wild land settings.