Why Couldn’t We Just Save the Bear?

After Death of Bear That Likely Wandered Area, Many Santa Barbara Community Members Had Questions. Here's More Info on What It Means to Relocate a Bear

Fish and Wildlife says biologists and staff set a bear trap near UCSB on April 17 in an unsuccessful attempt to safely capture the bear that wandered onto campus. | Credit: Sophie Cameron

This article was underwritten in part by the Mickey Flacks Journalism Fund for Social Justice, a proud, innovative supporter of local news. To make a contribution go to sbcan.org/journalism_fund.

The California Highway Patrol reported a dead bear on Highway 101 near Summerland earlier last week. That death followed a week of black bear sightings in the area, starting in Goleta in the early morning of April 15, and progressing to Isla Vista, UC Santa Barbara, More Mesa Beach, and eventually the Mesa neighborhood in Santa Barbara.

Given the bear’s apparent southbound route and the daily lack of black bears in urban Santa Barbara, it’s fair to assume the dead bear was likely our recent visitor. Neither the bear sighted around town nor the dead bear were tagged, however, so it’s impossible to confirm whether they are one and the same, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The bear became a local celebrity, with students at UCSB creating memes about him, and people following his movements on social media. With this bear’s death, folks may be left with questions about what could have been done differently. Why couldn’t someone come save the bear?

Why didn’t staff from the Department of Fish and Wildlife just relocate the bear?

In short, Fish and Wildlife said, it tried to, with staff working with university police, Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, County Animal Control, and Goleta Parks to capture it. The department says biologists and staff set a bear trap near UCSB’s campus on Thursday, April 17, attempting to safely capture and later release the bear. That trap was removed that Saturday, as the bear traveled down the coast.

Chemical immobilization, or tranquilizing the bear, was also on the table, but Fish and Wildlife said staff never observed the bear in person and were therefore not able to do so.

Who can tranquilize a bear? And when?

Ventura and Santa Barbara County have two Fish and Wildlife biologists trained to immobilize and move bears — the department said both of whom were in the area for multiple days last week. But, staff could not have tranquilized a bear at night, because tranquilizing drugs do not immediately affect the bear (the time in which they do so depends on the bear’s size and the site of injection, said Fish and Wildlife). If shot at night, the bear could flee into the darkness before capture. Tranquilizing a bear in a tree is also avoided, the Department says, because of the high risk it poses to the bear, which could fall once immobilized.

Who gets to decide whether to relocate a bear?

According to Fish and Wildlife, upper management from the department makes the ultimate decision on whether to relocate a bear. Bears are relocated, says the department, when the bear has no immediate escape route to an open space.

Why do bears come into urban areas in the first place?

Black bears are omnivores and opportunistic. Mia Guarnieri is a wildlife biologist who attended UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science and Management, and did her master’s thesis on black bears. She said that black bears are not “obligate carnivores.” That means, she said, they will eat pretty much anything, including trash.

Both Guarnieri and the Department of Fish and Wildlife said that trash and other food sources in urban areas can attract bears.

The age of the bear could, potentially, play a role, said Guarnieri. If the bear were young, it could have been a “disperser” — that’s a bear old enough to leave its parents but without the experience to know where to go. We don’t know the age of the bear seen wandering the area the other week, so we don’t know for sure whether it was a disperser.

What are some successful ways communities can help wildlife return home?

Wildlife crossings: In the long term, wildlife crossings can help animals like bears travel back to their home areas without having to cross busy highways. These crossings, which include underpasses and overpasses, can reduce collisions between wildlife and vehicles — by up to 97 percent, when a crossing is fenced, according to the U.S. Forest Service.
Report wildlife activity: The Department of Fish and Wildlife asks that communities report wildlife sightings in their area, such that the department can carry out wildlife monitoring and research work.
Manage “attractants”: Both Fish and Wildlife and Guarnieri said that taking steps to secure items — like trash and chicken coops — can help reduce bear interactions. Chicken coops, Fish and Wildlife said, are big attractants for bears, and the department recommends people properly secure their chicken coops with electric fencing in an area with wildlife.