California's Department of Fish and Wildlife says peak bear season isn't even here yet and with the shooting this past weekend in Pine Mountain Club they fear this could happen again, saying this can all be avoided by us limiting our interaction with these animals.
Vicky Monroe is a biologist with California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife who studies these animals and their behaviors.
“You know bears are the big one obviously but we do have raccoons, coyotes get fed, kit foxes in Bakersfield. We have situations where the deer are coming in and that attracts mountain lions. It's sort of a cascading effect,” said Monroe.
One that she says could have led to a recent encounter between a bear and homeowner in Pine Mountain Club.
A bear that fish and wildlife experts say had signs that it could have been fed by humans.
“The intentional feeding of wildlife is illegal. It is something that as a department we take very seriously,” said Monroe.
They say the bear known as Otis weighed more than bears the average bear they see in the wild, warning residents to not feed the wildlife.
[NOTE: The video of Otis shared with 23ABC News was taken by a homeowner who wanted to make very clear that neither he nor anyone in his household ever fed Otis or any other bears in the area.]
“If someone is found guilty, if there is enough evidence it can range from a citation and a fine. You know the fine really does vary though depending on the situation,” said Monroe.
But Monroe says sometimes feeding these animals doesn't always happen on purpose.
“You know if you put your bowl of food out for your dog or your cat, to please once it's done take it back inside. Don't keep it out overnight. Don't leave extra food out,” said Monroe.
And through studying these types of instances Monroe says bears are extremely intelligent and if there's a will, there's a way.
“If they're used to getting food from humans or human sources, they will find a way,” said Monroe.
Monroe also said that in reality it's about learning to coexist with wildlife and just knowing how to let them be at a safe distance and to just enjoy what we're observing.
