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EDITOR:
I want to extend my gratefulness to staff writer Dawn Hodson for the nice and truthful article about the black bear that was spotted at Placerville napping on a tree. Thank you to Mike Roberts, too, for the sweet picture. The bear looks like a furry human and even though his posture may seem uncomfortable to any person, it seems comfortable to the bear. Black bears are very human-like, they only need to walk on two legs as us. This story demonstrates the true nature of bears: gentle, intelligent and “food driven.” They are not in search of humans to eat. They are in search of food. Black bears are omnivores and they will eat carcasses if found, but they prefer the “food from the forest,” and only when the food in the forest is scarce, they will move on to the cities or closer towns, but they will not go after your pets or after children (unless they smell like candy). They’ll go after the fruit trees and if there are none, they will search for garbage and that’s why it is important to get “bear proof” garbage cans in areas where bears reside as Tahoe. I know such are expensive still, but hopefully bears will not come around often for their good sake and regardless of what a beautiful sight their presence is, it is not good to have them around.
I have to confess that I love black bears and I’m always wishing to be blessed with such a sight. If you do find yourself having a problem with bears getting into your garbage, an old trick is to pour some bleach into the garbage cans. Bears’ sense of smell is 100,000 times more sensitive than humans and the bleach will throw their sense of smell off. And remember: If confronted with a black bear, loud noises easily frighten them, as they are more afraid of you than you are of them. You know what the bear is, but they don’t know what we are.
ANGELA MILLA-LAURIDSEN
Pollock Pines
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Randy RobinsonOctober 19, 2012 - 12:34 pm
I have a small cabin at Lake Tahoe. Dispite all the stories I hear about there being to many bears there, I have yet to see one. I believe that the problem if there is one, is not a problem with bears, but a problem with irresponsible people. Not only do I have a bear box, but I also have a small speaker box containing a motion sensor that barks like a dog if a anything happens to wonder by. I highly recommend one. It is a easy, ecomonical solution to what some say is a problem.