TOUGH TO BEAR ATTACKS ON HUMANS BY HUNGRY BLACK BEARS A GROWING PROBLEM IN STATE.

Byline: Bill Becher Special to the Daily News

The female black bear's stomach was stuffed with Klondike Bar wrappers, single-serving salt-and-pepper containers, aluminum foil and bits of summer squash.

In the wild, bears eat a wide variety of foods, including grasses, herbs, fruits, insects and nuts. But many have developed a taste for human cuisine, and that is causing problems.

The 212-pound female bear, called a sow, was killed by California Department of Fish and Game wardens two weeks ago because she clawed a 43-year-old man at Annett's Mono Village, a large private campground 14 miles south of Bridgeport in the Eastern Sierra.

The man was standing by a cabin when the sow, trailing two cubs, reached out and swiped him with her paw. He suffered cuts to his eyes, right cheek and the inside of his mouth.

The victim, whose name was not released, lost vision in his left eye, but that should be temporary, according to his doctor.

Doug Updike, a biologist and bear specialist with the DFG, thinks the female bear was protecting her cubs.

``If it had been another bear it would have not resulted in injury,'' Updike said. ``It was probably more like a warning: `I'm coming through and I've got cubs behind me.' ''

The bear cubs with the sow were not killed. The DFG said they are old enough to fend for themselves.

Given human behavior, it's likely the cubs will grow to be a problem, too.

Residents at the campground regularly are warned by management not to feed bears, but some leave food out so they can see the animals. And there are a lot of bears to see in California.

Black bears, which actually can be chocolate brown, cinnamon brown or blond colored, have more than doubled their population in California since the 1980s, to an estimated 30,000. The bears, which can weigh more than 600 pounds, also have increased their range: They have been found in Marin and Santa Cruz counties in Northern California and are expanding in Southern California. Bear signs have been found 40 miles north of the Mexican border.

Combined with a burgeoning human population, the state is experiencing a surge in human-bear encounters. Although the vast majority of incidents are peaceful, sometimes they result in injury.

The DFG has recorded 12 black bear attacks - defined as physical contact, injury or death - in California since 1980, including two that occurred this year. None of the victims died, although some were seriously injured.

Stephen Herrero, a professor of biology and environmental science at the University of Calgary and the author of ``Bear Attacks, Their Causes and Avoidance,'' has studied hundreds of bear-human interactions. He said that in the U.S. and Canada in the 1990s, grizzly bears killed 18 people and black bears killed 11.

The widely reported deaths of Malibu resident Timothy Treadwell and his girlfriend in Alaska last month were caused by a grizzly bear that mauled and partially ate them. Despite being the state animal and featured on California's seal and flag, grizzly bears have been extinct in California since 1922.

Herrero said given that there are more than a half-million black bears in North America - 10 times more than grizzlies - the number of people killed by black bears is remarkably low.

Half of the 20 people killed by black bears between 1900 and 1980 were younger than 18 years old, and five were less than 10. Although instances are extremely rare, black bears are known to attack and eat children (and adults) as prey.

But most incidents are the result of black bears developing a taste for human food, not humans.

Shane Henry was by himself on a backpacking trip last summer on the Pacific Crest Trail in the San Gabriel Mountains when he stopped to pull off his backpack at the Little Jimmy camp and place it on a picnic table. He heard a noise behind him and turned around.

``The bear knocked me down, grabbed my pack, and dragged it away,'' said Henry, who received only minor scrapes and bruises.

He didn't relish fasting so he threw sticks, stones and yelled at the black bear. Eventually it dropped the pack and backed off. Henry said he normally hangs food away from bears but hadn't had time. Since that incident, he avoids camping where others have, especially if they have left food or garbage behind.

Because the DFG considers bears that act aggressively toward humans as problem bears, the bear that stole Henry's pack also had to be tracked down and destroyed.

``Nearly all public-safety problems that involve bears begin with people improperly managing garbage and food,'' Updike said.

Lake Tahoe, Mammoth Lakes and Monrovia have had the most problems with bear-human incidents. Government agencies in bear country have been trying to educate the public about keeping human food from bears.

But one result of these programs might be that bears habituated to eating human food are looking elsewhere for easy pickings.

Bruce Kinney, a DFG biologist, said some bears now are robbing anglers of their catch.

``We have identified bears that go for stringers,'' Kinney said. ``They started walking along the water's edge and learned this behavior this year.''

Jim Singiser, of Hacienda Heights, was fishing at Lake Mary in Mammoth one evening when a bear approached and ate the two large trout he had caught.

``It seems like they are all over the place,'' Singiser said. ``They are very brazen.''

He watched the bears strip stringers from other anglers that night.

``The last I saw of them, they were crossing the road back into the bush with my fish in their jaws,'' Singiser said. ``I decided I didn't want to fish with one eye on my rod and one on the road in a bear watch. For the bears, it must have been like a banquet. ... But it was not very relaxing fishing.''

Staff Writer Keith Lair contributed to this report.

THE BEAR FACTS

Advice for avoiding bear problems:

--Never feed a bear - even unintentionally. It is against the law and many local ordinances to feed bears.

--Dispose of all garbage properly. Use bear-proof garbage cans whenever possible, or store garbage in a secure location with food. Don't bury or burn excess food because bears still will be attracted to the residual smell. Garbage should be packed out of camp if no trash receptacles are available.

--Never approach a bear. Most black bears will avoid confrontation if given the chance. Be sure to give the animal enough space to escape. Most injuries occur when humans approach a bear.

--If a black bear approaches you, try to demonstrate that you are a danger to it. Make yourself larger, stand up, raise your arms and open your jacket. Yell, bang pots and pans or whatever objects you might have that will create a commotion.

--Do not run from a bear. Running away from a black bear might stimulate its instinct to chase. No human can outrun a bear. Black bears also are good tree climbers.

--If you have small children with you, pick them up so they can't run away or panic.

--If attacked, fight back. Playing dead works with grizzly bears but not the black bears found in California.

If a bear behaves aggressively, contact the Department of Fish and Game's 24-hour dispatch center at [phone].

For more information, visit www.keepmewild.org. You can view the DFG publication ``Living With California Black Bears'' at www.dfg.ca.gov/hunting/bearbrochure2000.pdf.

- Bill Becher

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, box

Photo:

(1) There are an estimated 30,000 black bears in California, a population that has more than doubled since the 1980s.

(2 -- 3) Above, Black bears often are enterprising in scavenging for food, not hesitating to pick through dumpsters. Below, campground visitors regularly are warned not to feed bears or make food easily accessible, which could lead to attacks.

Department of Fish and Game

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THE BEAR FACTS (see text)