With Steve Searles no longer employed with the Town of Mammoth Lakes, the Mammoth Lakes Police Department will continue to respond to all wildlife calls.  Mammoth Lakes Police Department has regularly handled the majority of all bear calls for the past several years and is highly trained in this area. MLPD is proud to have assisted Wildlife Management Specialist Steve Searles in pioneering his groundbreaking bear "training" program. Using a combination of loud noise and pain compliance techniques, urbanized bears are convinced to quit eating human garbage and to return to their normal food sources out in the wild. Officers have rubber bullets to sting the bear's hide, and noisemakers that are similar to firecrackers. The idea is to make it uncomfortable for the bear to be near humans and houses, as they were before we started feeding them our trash.

BEARS

IN AND AROUND MAMMOTH LAKES

One of the great things about Mammoth is living in a forest and enjoying the scenery. It also means we share home with a wide variety of animals, including American Black Bears. Co¬existing with bears is a special challenge here. Read on to learn about these unique animals and how humans have inadvertently but unmistakably changed how they live and eat. This part of the MLPD website will also introduce you to the Town's Wildlife Management program and what we are doing to correct the bears' behavior and move them back into the wild.

MEET THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR

This species is native to lower North America (Grizzly bears live farther north) in places where there are lots of trees (evergreen or hardwood).

Black bears range in color from light brown through a darker reddish brown, or black. Their muzzles (noses) are generally lighter in color. A very blonde, almost white, color is possible, but very rare. Male Black bears can weigh 125 to 500 pounds, and females 90 to 300 pounds. Weight depends on maturity, food supply and the time of year. They are usually 50 to 80 inches long, nose to tail, with the males being on the large side. That's pretty impressive for an animal that weighs about a pound when it is born! Studies have shown they live 20 to 30 years on average.

Wildlife biologists tell us the Black bear can swim up to 1.5 miles, and can run up to 25 mph, usually in the spring when they are lean. Fat winter bears can't run as fast because they overheat. The home range a bear will claim varies on age and gender. Cubs and yearlings stay put, moving only one to two miles from the den. Adult females will range two to six miles, and males eight to 15 miles. Bears that have been tagged or radio collared and then moved in an attempt to relocate them have been recorded as traveling 100 miles or more to go back "home".

Bears eat berries, fruit, nuts, insects and a variety of plants and roots. They do have sharp teeth and claws, but they are not predators. The only meat they eat is already dead, or easy to catch, such as newborn birds and small animals, or spawning fish. In some cases they will attack and eat penned livestock, but this is not common.

Our climate varies enough that the bears here, will not necessarily hibernate all winter. Sometimes we see them out and about when there is snow on the ground, when we have had a warm spell without storms. During very cold winters in the Sierra, they are more likely to den up and stay put. Female bears with cubs will stay in the den to care for them, regardless of the weather. Active time for bears here is usually June to September, but can start earlier and end later during a mild winter.

BEARS THAT LEARNED TO BE DIFFERENT

Now that you know what bears are supposed to eat and do, let's talk about how being around humans in an urban setting have changed them.

Like us, bears began noticing that human food smelled pretty good, so they started tasting it to see what it was like. Apparently, leftover macaroni and cheese tastes better than bugs, and the dumpster-diving bear was created. The next thing we all knew, the local bears had abandoned digging for plant roots and were instead digging through our garbage. It became so easy for them to obtain food, that they seemed to forget their natural fear of humans and began spending time in urban areas. For awhile, government agencies tried trapping and moving them, but they would come back. Many bears were killed because that seemed the only way to stop the problem. Gradually, we came to realize that was an unfair solution, as it was our fault that the bears had changed their behavior. People began to realize that humans had caused the problem and humans needed to solve it.

ENTER EDUCATION, FOR BOTH PEOPLE AND BEARS

Pioneers in the field like our own Steve Searles began pushing for a better way to deal with garbage eating bears. Searles figured out that two things needed to happen: the human food sources needed to be shut off, and the bears' behavior needed to be re-focused on bear business.

Now we have bear-proof trash cans (required by Town ordinance), and bear deterrent techniques that teach them to quit looking to humans for food. Searles realized that the bears needed to again see humans as the alpha bear, or the boss. If they come to the city, they are coming into our "den." Bears don't invade other bears' dens, so we won't let them move into ours. By using firecracker-like devices that make loud noises, rubber bullets that cause pain, and aggressive posturing, humans can show bears that we run the show inside an urban area. The bears then learn to move back into the forest area where they eat what they were born to eat, and are free to establish their own natural social hierarchy.

If we don't do this, the only alternative is to kill the animals to stop them from raiding civilization to eat.

YOUR RESPONSIBILITY, OR, A FED BEAR IS A DEAD BEAR

Don't encourage bears to take the easy way out and eat at your place instead of picking berries. If a bear finds food, it will continue to return until the food source is gone. They will continue checking for a few days (up to a week), and if the food is absent for several days in a row, they will get the hint and move on.

Here are some common mistakes made by homeowners or visitors:

...A SPECIAL WORD ABOUT BIRD FEEDERS

Seed, fruit and suet are all natural bear foods. We send them a mixed message by putting out the things they are supposed to eat, and then busting them for doing it. The birds deserve a fair shake, too, so what to do? Feed the birds when they most need help, which is during the winter. The bears are not active then, so there shouldn't be a conflict. Put bird feeders away during the summer. If you absolutely have to have birds make special visits to your yard in the summer, don't put out suet or fruit. Place seed feeders on wires 'strung high off the ground and well clear of trees, your house, or anything on which the bears can climb to get to them. Clean spilled seed off the ground regularly.

Better yet, just provide water in a birdbath. Wildlife biologists tell us water to drink and bathe in attracts far more birds than birdfeed.

MAKE IT A NEIGHBORHOOD EFFORT, OR, FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS FEED BEARS

Encourage everyone who lives or camps around you to follow the rules. The program will not work if the bears can still find non-natural food at your neighbor's place. Don't be confused, though, about natural bear activity in your neighborhood. After all, this is a rural area and they were here first. If you see a bear, watch it. It might just be passing through. It also might be stopping to eat a plant or insect it likes that happens to be on or near your property or campsite, or to get a drink of water. In that case, you should be the one who modifies your behavior. That kind of activity is not wrongdoing by the bear. let it be, and it will move on when it is finished feeding or drinking.

WHAT DO I DO IF A BEAR IS BEING BAD IN MY DEN?

Let the bear know you are a more powerful bear, and you don't appreciate it trespassing in your "territory." Be loud, be as big as you can make yourself, and act like the boss. Yell, waive your arms, and throw things in the bear's direction (pinecones work great and are usually handy). Once the bear moves off, stop. Don't punish it for doing the right thing. If the bear climbs up a tree, leave it alone. This is submissive behavior, which is what you want. The animal will stay in the tree until things calm down, and then it will move on.

Use common sense about how close you get to the animal, and don't block off its avenues for escape. Black bears are generally not known to be aggressive toward humans, but rare attacks do happen. Remember, they are BIG, WILD, ANIMALS. You can show dominance over them without putting yourself in harm's way. Don't let children assist you in this endeavor. Explain that scaring the bear away is an adult job. Also, don't turn your dog loose on the bear, as the encounter could cause injury to the dog, or to the bear, and the bear doesn't learn anything from it.

Don't think you're cut out to be a boss bear? That's okay. Call MLPD dispatch at 760-934-2011, ext. 1, and ask for an officer to respond. We are trained in proven, proper aversion techniques. Please don't laugh at us when we yell "bad bear!" We are not being silly. We are being boss bears.