Patch Blog: Wildlife in Our Midst

As some of you know, Monrovia recently held a at the and since that informative meeting came the recent incident with a . My condolences to Mr. Harvey for the loss of his cat. It's difficult to lose a beloved pet, especially in such a manner. Understandably, other pet owners are concerned for their pet's safety and well-being.

What can we do? Sometimes, it's not what we can do, but undo. And, as easy as it it to write, it can be difficult to get an entire community on the same page and working together.

Do you or your neighbors:

• feed pets outside or store pet foods outside?

• put trash bins out the night before and/or unlock the bear proof containers at night?
• feed the deer or other wild animals on purpose or by not picking up fallen fruit?
• allow pets and children to play, unattended, in the Foothill area?
• have outside pets or insufficiently protected farm animals, such as chickens?
• have overgrown brush, giving coyotes and mountain lions ample hiding places?
• the warnings some of these animals give to let you know your presence is unwanted and you need to back away?

It's the responsibility of the entire community to not give the wildlife more reason to hang out by our homes. I encourage you to give it some thought...are you contributing to the wildlife issues of Monrovia that are causing some residents to be fearful? Or are you enjoying the wildlife from afar and following the safety guidelines of the Department of Fish and Game, Animal Control, and the City of Monrovia Living With Wildlife brochure?

I recently posted some photos on Facebook, taken from about 40 feet away from inside my SUV, of a bear I spotted as I was driving around the curves of North Alta Vista. As content as I, and a Golden Retriever named Sparky, was to watch this beauty, our enjoyment was interrupted by the whistling and yelling of a friend trying to warn me, and then a car whipping around the corner, nearly hitting the bear. Then, a few minutes later, as I was travelling the opposite direction, the person who was doing the whistling and yelling, was now walking in the street attempting to coax the bear back uphill. I knew her intentions were good ones, but they were not in line with what this bear wanted.

How do I know? What my friend did not know was that the bear was hiding under a tree, just a car length, or two, away. The bear was watching her and doing a low huffing sound (a warning), which I heard out of my slightly open, passenger side window, but she did not hear over my engine. The bear was signaling for my friend to leave. I am not relaying this story to place judgement on my well-meaning friend, but as a lesson to us all. As purehearted as we can be, there are things we, as a community, can do to educate ourselves to handle these situations in a manner suitable for us and for the wildlife.

I think what bothers me most about wildlife in Monrovia is not the wildlife, but how some humans react to the wildlife. My theory is to leave them alone unless they pose a threat and admire from a safe place and distance. Wildlife sightings in Monrovia have enhanced my residency experience for more than 30 years. Sure, I've had a bear in my yard, bathing in my blue-tinted pond (if you see any blue wildlife, you know where they've been), coyote on my lawn, even a raccoon trying to come into my screen door. Two years ago, I was readying for a yard sale when I heard someone going through a paper bag under the canopy I set up. I turned to say hi to my neighbor, assuming it was a human, and it was actually a large bear perusing the goods. Ten to fifteen feet away, a shopping bear, standing tall. Needless to say, I backed into the yard, shut the gate, and went inside. Clearly, I had nothing bear-worthy, as he or she left empty pawed.

I have two dogs (a 48 lb. Shepherd Mix & a 23 lb. blind Lhasa Apso), a dessert tortoise, a Red-Eared Slider, and a small pond with about nine fish. Do I worry about wildlife? Sure I do, it would be irresponsible of me not to be aware of the dangers to my pets, but there's more than just awareness.

I must also take the proper precautions to avoid wildlife from harming, or worse, killing my pets. Unfortunately, I live next door to a yard that is completely overgrown, with avocado trees that have fruit, seemingly year-round. As I wrote at the beginning of this post, it takes a community effort to keep the wildlife wild, and although I have kept my yard free from attractants, my neighbor has not, so it is a wash.

There have been a number of comments posted under other wildlife stories on Patch. I believe we all have a right to our opinions and theories and have a right to speak and write our minds. I encourage us all to take our own situation at hand and do what we feel is right, provided it falls within the law (regardless if we agree with that law) and is a reasonable act to protect ourselves and our pets from wildlife.

I also encourage us all to please remember your neighbors, their children, and their pets...are you putting them in danger by something you are doing? We are a Foothill community that is very capable of working together. I am grateful for my neighbors and fellow residents who are responsibly enjoying all the hills have to offer.