Letters to the Editor: Don’t blame Sierra Madre’s human residents for their bear problem

To the editor: In your article about the bear problems in Sierra Madre, Erinn Wilson, regional manager for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is reported as saying that the behavior of these bears is a result of people moving deeper into the wildlands where bears reside.
What she conveniently left out, as she does any time she discusses the problem, is that these bears are not native to the mountains of Southern California. The state itself imported black bears from the Yosemite area nearly 100 years ago — at a time when bear hunting was a thing.
Well, bear hunting has since gone out of fashion, and left unmanaged by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the bear population continues to grow. There are now far greater numbers of bears than can be sustained by their natural food sources in the wilderness, so they intrude into populated areas.
Yes, the bears are intruding into people’s territory.
Unless the state steps up and does something about the problem it created, this situation will continue to get worse.
Don Handley, Sierra Madre
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To the editor: I was disappointed that the article about these clever bears didn’t mention whether the doors they were able to open were actually locked.
After living most of my life in West L.A., I moved to the foothills and learned pretty quickly that we can coexist peacefully with bears and deer.
Moreover, the first time I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of rustling in my backyard, I was relieved to see that it was just a bear and not a human.
Eduardo Delgado, Moorpark
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To the editor: The claim that bears in the mountains near Sierra Madre have learned to open house and car doors is based on statements from a city attorney, who also claimed he didn’t know how it was happening.
It’s more likely that if the animals are learning anything, it’s how to enter buildings and vehicles that are open or unlocked.
If that’s the case, it’s the human behavior that’s at fault.
Dave Suess, Redondo Beach