WILD THINGS CRITTERS COME CLOSE FOR FOOD, WATER.

Byline: Lisa M. Sodders Staff Writer

A mountain lion lurks in Griffith Park. Sharks feed 100 yards off the coast of Pacific Palisades. A 200-hundred-pound California black bear takes a dip in a Jacuzzi on a casual romp through an Agoura Hills neighborhood.

Officials warn it's the season for critter sightings.

``People need to be aware of what's before them, around them and behind them,'' said Alexia Retallack, spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Game. ``When you're alert and paying attention, it's less likely for an incident to occur.''

The bear population in local mountains is growing slightly and coming out of hibernation. Coyotes in search of food for their pups are crossing busy streets in the San Fernando Valley and the hot dry weather is sending many animals into urban areas for water.

Public awareness and sightings are up, officials said, due, in part, to a fatal mountain lion attack in Orange County in January. In that incident, a 35-year-old Anaheim man was mauled by a cougar while mountain biking in a wilderness park. On the same day, a 30-year-old woman was severely injured by the same cougar, which was beaten back by the woman's friend and passing bicyclists.

Still, Fish and Game's Steve Martarano noted that there have been only 14 mountain lion attacks since 1890, six of them fatal.

Bear sightings in semirural areas around the San Fernando Valley area, like Tuesday's visit to an Agoura Hills neighborhood by a black bear from the Santa Monica Mountains, are also rare.

Wildlife officials tranquilized that bear and returned it to the mountains. Martarano said homeowners must avoid feeding bears because once they develop a taste for human food, they will return to get more, and can grow more aggressive in their pursuit of food, which often forces officials to kill them.

``Bears think with their stomachs, and they'll tear off a car door if they think there's food inside,'' Martarano said.

Because of the warmer temperatures, officials said Californians should also be on the lookout for rattlesnakes, the state's only native venomous snake.

Retallack said people should stick to well-used trails when they hike and avoid tall grass and weeds. If they are bitten, they should seek medical attention immediately.

``A lot of rattlesnakes can swim, so if you see a piece of wood drifting by, don't just grab it, because it may not be wood,'' Retallack said.

Shark sightings off the coast of Pacific Palisades early in the week cleared many swimmers from the surf, but Capt. Garth Canning, with the Los Angeles County Fire Department's Lifeguard Division, said there's nothing unusual about the sightings.

``It's the weather - we've had no wind,'' he said. ``When there's wind on the water, the surface of the ocean is choppy, and it's much harder to see on the bottom. When you're in a helicopter and it's dead calm and the water's like glass, eventually, you're going to spot some wildlife.''

``We've never had a shark attack in Santa Monica Bay,'' Canning said, adding that south of Point Conception, near Lompoc, the sharks tend to be juveniles who are more interested in snacking on fish than sea lions.

``Every wild animal represents a risk if molested,'' Canning said. ``If you encounter any wild animal, give it a lot of space, whether it's a shark, a sea lion, a stingray or a jellyfish.''

Lisa M. Sodders, [phone]

lisa.sodders(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Unconcerned about nearby humans, a coyote is out on the prowl for food on the Soka University campus in Calabasas.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News

Box:

BEAR AWARE

SOURCE: Department of Fish and Game