Bear invasions, Part III

By Patric Hedlund with community reporters and Marcy Axness

There is a slow-motion sound track to the tragedy of bears losing their lives because people feed the cute cubs when they are little.

It is the sound of breaking glass, screams and gunshots three years later, when grown bears return to human homes, seeking food.

In the past three weeks Pine Mountain neighbors report feeling terrorized by hungry bears breaking windows and entering their homes.

A big blond-back cinnamon and a sub-adult black-colored bear have broken into the majority of the most recently damaged homes. While all bears in California are…(please see below to view full stories and photographs)

Photo captions:

This sub-adult black bear is one of two bears reportedly breaking into many Pine Mountain Club homes. On Thursday, July 9, he took a break after eating 5 pounds of dog food from a garage with an open door and some trash left in a back yard—all just one hour before climbing this tree in Casey Bridge’s yard for an afternoon snooze. By Saturday night, a larger blond-backed cinnamon bear had been shot and killed by Department of Fish and Wildlife wardens and USDA trappers.

This window had been left cracked open for air, which gave the cinnamon bear an easy way in.

Image left: The blond-backed cinnamon bear, caught on a ring camera ‘deck-checking’ in mid-Zermatt area on July 10, had been reported entering homes and breaking windows in PMC for over a month.

Those who grow fruit trees need to take fruit in early to let it ripen inside, or it will attract bears to your home.

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This is part of the July 17, 2020 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.

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