NEWS

Black bear caught, killed in Visalia

Eric Woomer
ewoomer@visaliatimesdelta.com

A female black bear who had been to the Valley floor more than once was captured in a residential part of Visalia early Thursday morning. She was euthanized shortly after.

Visalia Police Department Sgt. Chris McLain was on patrol around 5 a.m. in the area of Noble Avenue and Vista Street, around Mineral King Elementary School, when he noticed the bear running. Police called the state's Department of Fish and Wildlife, who located the bear near a set of condos. The bear had run under a tenant's truck.

"Police were yelling at me to go back inside. I had never seen a bear before. It was just chilling under the truck," said Joseph Villa, who said he moved his truck so Fish and Game could get to the bear.

Fish and Wildlife tranquilized the bear and later found that the bear had been captured in Earlimart on Oct. 12. As per state policy, the bear was killed to prevent it from returning to the Valley floor.

"It's not a good thing when you have a bear that has been habituated to people," said Kyle Orr, a Fish and Wildlife spokesman. "Unfortunately, because the bear is likely to return, it was euthanized."

The bear was not aggressive, police said, and weighed about 150 pounds.

Chief Colleen Mestas said her officers tried in every way to ensure the bear was kept alive.

"The plan was to tranquilize the bear and take [her] back to the forest. I know our staff made every effort to keep the bear alive unless it was no longer an option," she said. "I am pleased with how Sgt. Chris Mclain handled the situation."

This female adult bear is one of several bears to have come to the Valley floor looking for food. A bear was killed in Tulare Oct. 12. Another bear was located in Porterville Monday and bear tracks have been spotted in Exeter and Farmersville. The bear located Thursday in Visalia was found in Earlimart and returned to the forest, about 70 east of Visalia.

Orr said the five bear sightings in Tulare County is "robust" in a short time span.

"Wow, it was a rush. I took a selfie with it," Villa said.

Fish and Wildlife officials are reporting a spike in bear activity, especially in the Bakersfield area, Orr said. There are currently more than 32,500 bears in California, double the number of bears that were counted in 1982. It's not known why the bears have doubled in numbers, but Orr said it's a healthy and growing population.

It's not known if the drought will impact that trend.

Fish and wildlife officials say bears will do many things to get to food and with the state in a severe drought, it's possible more bears will head down from the mountains in hopes of finding a meal before winter hits. Orr added that it's not uncommon for bears to come down from the hills.

Orr said there's no way of knowing for sure, whether bears are heading down the mountains because of the drought, but some are speculating that bears are wandering farther from home to find water and food. And they will do anything to find a good meal.

"A bear can tear the siding off a home or cabin to gain entry, or rip through the shingles to come in through the attic," according to a Fish and Wildlife report. "Anticipation of an easy meal makes the trouble of destroying property worthwhile."

Techniques to remove bears include using sound makers, pepper spray, rubber slug shot shells or sling shot projectiles to drive the bear away or haze the bear out of the area.

Tranquilizing and removing the bear can be used if other methods are determined to be unsafe or have been unsuccessful.

Neighbors were discouraged the bear had died, but said they worried more about their family's well-being.

"As long as we are fine. You never know, you have to be aware, very aware," said Toni Perez, who watched with her son from the story of their complex. "You never know what is outside your door. Thankfully, it wasn't a time the kids were outside."