Bear Tales

Bears are the hot topic in Forest Falls, California. We moved here about five months ago. The appeal to me for moving here are the huge stately Pine and Cedar trees. For years I have had a notion of living in a log cabin surrounded by green trees. I read the series of Little House on the Prairie and it portrayed a lifestyle that seemed to hit home to me. There is nothing that can compare in my book to the scent that these trees emit. I also love the smell of the earth after a rain storm. The vegetation is a far cry from the exposure of desert plants that I grew up with in Palm Springs.

Being a newer resident I have only gotten a glimpse of a bear as we drove by it one night. I have heard stories of bears breaking into homes, destroying garage doors, entering through windows and creating havoc in the lives of some of our neighbors. We have learned in a short time that bears have a great sense of smell. So, if you are going to bake apple pies, you'd better make sure your windows are shut up tight and your doors are secure.

Now, my intention is not to make light of the damage they are capable of doing. Several years ago we were camping at Barton Flats and I left a package of candy in the back seat of our jeep. The next morning we woke up to find that a window had been tweaked by a bear in order to get in. The jeep had a soft-top and it was not difficult for the bear to bend the metal frame. We have recently become volunteers for the San Gorgonio Wilderness Association. My interest is mainly to do clean-up in the picnic areas. The amount of trash left behind by those that stop to enjoy the water at Mill Creek is deplorable and a whole other story in itself.

My concern for now is for the bears and for those having them come into their homes. I would hope that because we can't expect the bears to understand the dilemma that we can at least educate and inform people on what can be done to discourage them. I really hate to think that killing them is the solution. Humans have moved into their territory. We have introduced them to the junk food most of us enjoy and their palates now crave pizza and anything else that it leftover in picnic dumpsters. Do we just shoot intruders because they inconvenience us or do we work on some other solutions?