A black bear’s sense of smell is 2,100 times better than a human’s and seven times better than a bloodhound’s, according to the national bear education program Bearwise. A full-sized bear also eats thousands of calories per day and, leading up to hibernation, that number can reach more than 20,000 calories. While bears in Humboldt enter the less intense inactive time known as torpor, they still bulk up, taking any opportunity for easy food — often from people’s yards.
According to the recently released California Department of Fish and Wildlife Black Bear Program Annual Report, the North Coast region has the highest population in the state, estimated between 16,800 and 28,000.
Local encounters of the Ursid kind are not uncommon and issues can arise. Some are more benign, ranging from stripped fruit trees to tell-tale voluminous scat piles or paw prints left behind. But, due to their opportunistic nature and high food motivation, homeowners can also experience the more problematic raiding of garbage cans, damaging trespasses into garages and vehicles and, in rare occurrences, loss of livestock.
According to wildlife experts, there are ways to help prevent those occurrences and coexist with bears and other wildlife that call Humboldt home.
When this reporter put up a Facebook post looking to hear about experiences with black bears on the Humboldt County on Alert page, hundreds responded with their stories.
That included a Fortuna resident who shared trail cam footage near his home of a particularly large bear he’s dubbed “Fatty Fatty Bo Batty.”
“I don’t consider them a threat to livestock. I own two small goats that they walk by often. They seem to be on the lazy side of things and prefer a garbage can or fresh sweet fruit rather than the hunt,” the resident wrote in a direct message. “The only time I get nervous is during a long overnight slow-cook barbecue.”
“One night while I was driving, I literally got T-boned by a bear. Yes, it ran into the side of me,” said another.
“He’s raided our freezer in the garage a few times, ran off with a batch of homemade enchiladas,” someone else shared.
“Upper Sunnybrae has a regular bear night visitor every fall who loves the apples,” another response read. “S/he awkwardly crawls over fences to get them, gets into trash (which most people don’t put out at night anymore), then leaves a calling card in the middle of the street before rambling back to the forest. Peaceful coexistence other than some damaged apple trees.”
Found throughout California, more than 60,000 black bears are estimated to live in the state. Some parts of Humboldt County have an especially dense population, such as Hoopa with 133 bears per 100 square kilometers. They live in a variety of habitats and are omnivores, eating plants, small mammals, carrion and, unfortunately, human food. According to Bearwise, their eating of carcasses and log shredding improves the quality of the landscape, and their scat distributes seeds and recycled nitrogen throughout their ranging area.
If it seems like there are more bears out there in recent years, that’s likely. According to the CDFW bear report, the most recent estimate is “a roughly 3 percent population size increase” from 2019 to 2023 numbers.
One potential factor is a state ban on hunting of black bears with dogs, which went into effect in 2013. CDFW’s total bear take count during hunting season has dropped from between 1,500 and 2,000 a year pre-2013 to less than 1,500.
Bearwise also reports that as more land is developed and the human population rises in those areas, bears have less untouched habitat to reside and search for food in, resulting in increased tolerance to humans and more vehicle collisions. CDFW’s website also highlights how cubs conditioned to human food by their mothers will grow up to be more accustomed to people, continuing a detrimental cycle.
Kiana Nova, a wildlife biologist for the CDFW’s North Coast region, whose work mainly consists of addressing human-wildlife conflict, says the impacts of the ban are still being studied but the black bear population is booming. In places like Eureka and McKinleyville, thin stretches of forest running through town act like a highway for black bears between neighborhoods, according to Nova.
Bears are very intelligent and have good memories, so they will take advantage of any easy access to food they find appealing, including garbage, Nova says, even learning when cans are put out.
“A lot of times, it starts with a bear in the garbage, and a lot of times people just find it annoying, and they don’t reach out to us,” Nova says. “So then, the bear gets more comfortable around people. They learn that nothing negative is ever going to happen to them around people … normally people don’t report or talk to me until it is way far.”
Using their strong, dexterous paws, some bears figure out how to get inside buildings. A message from Lauren N. described an encounter with a bear that got into the carport attached to her house, where she found it eating from a Tandoori Bites chicken tikka masala container. Once she and her neighbors agreed to secure their garbage cans and not put them out until pick-up day, the visits stopped.
“I respect their space, and in nearly a dozen years at this house, they have never threatened me or my family and have only made a bit of a mess that my hands are capable of picking up,” Lauren N. wrote. “I enjoy their company, and now kind of miss the bears’ presence, but know it’s best that they’re not in the neighborhood full-time. It is possible to deter them, and those who call for their extermination, or find joy in chasing or torturing them, have clearly forgotten that we live in a forest and, therefore, the bears’ neighborhood.”
Some community members with livestock have a different relationship. Chickens and other small poultry are most likely to be eaten, according to CDFW, but some bears have sought out bigger meals. One local resident, who did not want to be named or identified by location due to rumors about illegal hunting of bears in her area, described the repeated killings of her sheep by what she believes is the same bear. She tried predator lights around the property’s beehives, but another sheep was eventually killed within 10 feet of one.
When she filed for a depredation permit, she says she was asked to try using a paintball gun or radios first, which she did not believe would work. She also says her understanding is that CDFW code, which she doesn’t want to break, prevents the discharge of a firearm within 150 yards of an occupied dwelling. CDFW Patrol Capt. Matthew Wells clarified that the agency’s 150-yard rule only applies to hunting, but other firearm-related activity may still be regulated by local ordinances.
For the sheep owner, the question is largely moot. “Trust me, a paintball gun’s not gonna stop him killing sheep,” she says. “Then you’d have to be out there, I’m not going to sleep out in the field with a paintball gun at one in the morning.”
Alisha Watson, who lives near the Elk River, says she’s had multiple cars broken into by black bears. After finding out the animals were checking door handles, she started locking the car at night. Then one got in through the sunroof and became stuck, totaling it in the process.
Overall, Watson estimates she has accrued around $50,000 in property and car damage from the bears. While CDFW recommended she put up hotwire to deter them, which she guessed would cost around $10,000 to install, she says she doesn’t want it on her property.
Since buying the property in 2019, Watson says the bears have become an ever-increasing presence, turning up weekly.
“Nothing seems to work. We cannot have any bird feeders out. We can’t have any pet food out. We have to keep all garbage locked up until the morning of garbage day and put it out, which is a super pain,” Watson says. “We have to keep all of our car doors locked and nothing in them. At the time that my car was totaled, the only thing inside was an air freshener hanging from the mirror.”
Nova notes just a hint of something edible can draw them in on a target.
“They learn really quickly. They know where food is. So if you have anything that can be considered a food, trying to keep that away from the bears is going to be our best bet,” Nova says. “Don’t leave anything smelly in vehicles is another really big one. Even things like hand sanitizer or lotion, just anything that’s smelly, keep it out of your car.”
The CDFW has a Wildlife Incident Reporting system for residents if they want to report wildlife sightings, damage to property or human-wildlife conflict, request a depredation permit or report any takings of wildlife through a depredation permit.
While a depredation permit can be requested by residents whose property or livestock are being harmed and killed, Nova says, it is considered one of the last resorts.
“CDFW does require that the homeowners do as much non-lethal practices as feasible for that area, especially where we are. If you remove one animal, another one’s just gonna come in,” Nova says. “So we really want to get to the root of the problem, which is normally attractants. And the biggest ones up here … is chickens. Fruit trees is another really big one, or people feeding their domestic animals outside. Cat food is also a giant attractant. It’s smelly and there’s so many calories in it, so bears have a field day there.”
Nova says there are some limited instances when people can use lethal force outside of a permit, but it needs to be reported.
“If you come outside and the bear is in the act of causing property damage or killing your livestock, you can shoot to defend your property, or if you are feeling threatened, you can do that,” Nova says. “It is within code that you have to call CDFW so that I can go out there, take different samples, and law enforcement would be part of that as well to make sure that it was a legal shooting.”
Bears typically act defensively, Nova says, so they don’t seek out conflict unless they are startled.
If encountering a bear, Nova recommends that people do not run or turn their back, which can trigger the animal into chasing them. Instead, they should try to make themselves as big as possible while making a bunch of noise. If the person is wearing a jacket, they can unzip it and hold it out like wings to increase their perceived size.
“There are personal alarm keychain devices that are really neat. They’re little, they’re relatively cheap online and one end emits a really loud alarm noise. So you have that with you at all times,” Nova says. “You can throw the piece at the bear or whatever wildlife you’re interacting with, and it should make it so that animal runs away.”
The HCSO also receives several calls a year about bear sightings, even if the bear isn’t currently threatening other animals or people. Nova says this level of fear, compounded with media coverage on bear attacks, is another reason why education on black bears is so important. She also suggests calling 911 if anyone directly encounters a bear, which will be transferred to the CDFW’s law enforcement division. Biologists will then come out to help trap the bear, if needed, and collect DNA evidence.
“People tend to be really scared when bears are in the news — it’s always something crazy, right? It’s either a bear attacked XYZ or something happens. And so, people are way more scared and they don’t necessarily think, but they just go with their emotions,” Nova says. “So our biggest thing is to educate and have people understand that bears are just looking for food that is their whole existence when they’re out and about.”
Nanette Nickerson, a McKinleyville resident, described how the bears in her neighborhood have generally stayed away from her property due to her livestock guardian dogs, but didn’t react to her two small dogs chasing it into a nearby meadow.
“It slowly sauntered into the forest, while my two little dogs were following at a distance of 5 to 7 feet, just barking their little heads off,” Nickerson says. “And I was so terrified because I thought … if the bear gets annoyed it can turn around and, just one swipe, could kill one or both of those dogs, but it just slowly wandered away into the forest.”
Nova says situations between bears and dogs typically only escalate if a sow with cubs gets caught in a fenced area with the dog. If a bear feels trapped or has young to protect, it’s more likely to react.
“We’re trying to recommend that people [talk loudly] before you go outside at night or have your dog on a leash at night,” Nova says. “We know it’s inconvenient, but it could be very helpful to protect you, protect your dog, protect wildlife.”
In deterring black bears from a property, Nova suggests pouring Pine-Sol on top of garbage bags alongside avoiding putting out cans until the morning of garbage day. Having motion-activated sprinklers and lights is also recommended. If stronger methods are needed, hotwire can be installed on fences and predator lights can be placed around eye level with the wildlife you are trying to deter.
Nova says most black bear presences are resolved when people secure their trash, but that bear may end up focusing on a neighbor’s home instead.
“It’s really helpful when neighbors talk to each other and everybody learns the simple tricks to try and keep that bear out of there, and then we can stop any of the depredation permits, almost,” Nova says.
Just as humans have their own role to play in lessening encounters, they can also cause their own share of damage in the shared space, however unintentional.
Public records from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office show the agency receives several calls each year about bears wandering through streets being hit by cars, along with the occasional bear getting stuck inside vehicles. Several reports show that bears left with severe injuries or low chance of survival after a collision can be shot by officers to relieve them of their suffering.
Monte Merrick, executive director of the Humboldt Wildlife Care Center, says the organization has taken in nine bears under a year old, mostly orphaned, in the last 14 years, mainly from around Hoopa. The bears are then transferred to facilities with the means to house and rehabilitate them long-term.
Merrick recalls taking in one bear that had been struck by a car and was so dazed that he could hold its head in his lap while doing an examination.
“Every animal we treat is an animal that has been on the wrong end of civilization, right?” Merrick says, noting all injuries went back to human-introduced causes. “Hit by a car, smashed into a window, grabbed by a domestic cat. Whatever it is, it’s civilization that’s happening.”
Bears that become adjusted to human foods also suffer health issues, such as gaining weight outside of the typical window before hibernation or torpor. Any bear that starts relying on that stream will lose the ability to navigate its natural habitat and may become a danger to the public, potentially resulting in euthanization.
“If you take away the animal’s ability to support himself or herself without human involvement, then they might still be wild, but they’re not OK. They’re injured,” Merrick says. “And sometimes, just like an injury like a bird whose wing is never going to fly again, this is a psychic injury that basically has the same result.”
Merrick says HWCC should be called in if a bear has a significant injury, especially a limp or noticeable vision issues, or if a cub is found without a mother nearby. Sows will usually park their babies nearby while they forage, but an orphaned cub should be something to note. The organization is also fully community supported, and Merrick has found many people want to better coexist with nature.
“I think that we are very lucky that we live in a community where there’s a higher percentage of people that actually love the wild and want to protect the wild resources that we get to be near and see wild animals as co-earthlings here, and we share this place with them. And they want to be good neighbors to their wild neighbors,” Merrick says.
For more information on securing personal property in black bear areas, Nova recommends locals visit the Bearwise website. CDFW can also be reached through their website or by calling the Eureka field office at (707) 445-6493.
Griffin Mancuso is a California Local News Fellow placed with North Coast Journal, Inc. Reach him at (707) 442-1400, or griffin@northcoastjournal.com. The California Local News Fellowship is a state-funded initiative to support and strengthen local news reporting. Learn more about it at fellowships.journalism.berkeley.edu/cafellows.
This article appears in Big Backyard Visitors.