It’s the season for bear encounters around the Morongo Basin. Social media has been flooded with reports of bears breaking into cars, trailers, and yards, and one hiker even had to be rescued at the Mission Creek Preserve near Morongo Valley after fleeing from a bear sighting.
Black bears are common in the mountainous areas of the hi-desert, even if we can’t see them.
We spoke with former Z107.7 deejay Mitchell Schlickenmayer, who is now a preserve ranger at Pioneertown Mountain Preserve with the Wildlands Conservancy, who has firsthand experience living around bears. He explained that black bears are not interested in engaging with humans, and prioritize their search for food.
He provided some strategies to better help people co-exist with bears:
- Take your trash out to the bins the night before trash day, rather than leaving your trash in the bin all week long. Clean and deodorize your trash cans. Don’t leave trash or groceries or animal feed in your car.
- If you have fruit trees in your yard, make sure that as soon as they ripen that you pick the fruit. If any fruit falls on to the ground, you get rid of it so that it doesn’t attract a bear.”
- If you have bird feeders, I would recommend bringing them in. Bears love bird feeders. I’d recommend planting natural plants that birds love rather than using birdseed.
- Make sure you keep your barbecues clean.
- Keep pet food inside.
- Keep your doors and windows locked, as the scent of cooking can lure bears inside.
- If you have an outdoor kitchen, make sure you bring your food inside. Don’t risk leaving food in an outdoor cooler.
Photo Credit: California Department of Fish & Wildlife
