The Altadenans are not unrelated to the observations of animals – there are many peacocks and parrots in the city – but the news of a coyote and a black bear that travels the city together recently have links.
First introduced to the public via A clip published on social networks Through the Altadena sheriff station, the duo was spotted several times, eating garbage and patrolling the streets of Fothill left mainly sorry by the fire of Eaton in January.
Although seeing a bear or a coyote is not abnormal in Altadena, observing them together is surprising, explains the deputy vice assistant of the county sheriff, Andrew Garza, whose partner took the video of the improbable pair when they answered a call about the bear at the end of June. “They were sort of walking and dragging together, which was really interesting,” he says. “I think that because of the fires, the two animals have lost their natural habitat so that they are here in search of water and food, but see them together painted this image of only two friends, trying to get along and check the neighborhood.”
Raimy Rosenduft, a resident of Altadena, says she captured the pair a week later on her gateway camera (experts think it’s the same couple). In its clip, the bear and the coyote apparently appreciate the booty of a spilled bin, monitoring the neighborhood while they weigh their next movement.
While wildlife experts say it is understandable that viewers can see the clips and think “discover this pair of best cute and fur friends”, they quickly note that what is happening between the two species seems to indicate more tolerance than affection.
“You can humanize your dog or cat, but I think it is even a section,” says Steve SearlesAn expert in fauna and author who has once nicknamed “The Bear Whisperer”. “To think that these animals love you or that you love them is simply not based on reality or the fact. I do not want to burst the bubble of anyone, but it is this kind of thought that makes someone – is a person or more likely an animal – killed.”
There is a less sentimental explanation of the team, says Searles. At the time he worked as a fauna agent in gigantic lakes in the 1990s, Searles says he often saw coyotes sleeping outside the bear. (Coyotes were also spotted alongside Bears in BurbankAlthough in apparently less friendly circumstances, among others.) “It was as if they were waiting for the bear to wake up and will work, because it was more economical for them to travel with the bear during its night route,” explains Searles. While bears are generally considered to be apex predators, he says, the black bears – the Only wild bears On the left in California – are actually vegetarian omnivores, eat much more grass, tubers, roots and berries than meat. Coyotes, on the other hand, are opportunistic eaters, reducing everything that crosses their paths. According to a bear, which will overthrow a trash to lick a jar of thrown peanut butter but can ignore the chicken bones, could be a victory for the small animal.
Unless a black bear has bears with or who seeks to mate, says Searles, they will not pay the coyote much. “Everyone is used to seeing Grizzlies on television catching air salmon at the top of a waterfall, but black bears are one of the most lazy animals on the planet,” he explains. “They just want to walk on your lawn, eat grass or daisies or other species of non -Aboriginal plants. It’s just easier. They don’t want to run for anything if they can help him. ”
Ecologist Chris Morgan Said that even if he would not use the word “lazy” to describe black bears, he would call them absolutely effective. “Like all bears, they came out for the greatest number of calories to say the least.”
Even if the twinning is less “Buddy Animal Movie” and more imperative biological, this does not mean that the observers of seasoned fauna have not found something interesting in the images.
Eric Strauss, executive director of the Loyola Marymount Center for Urban ResilienceSaid that his group has largely studied coyotes in urban environments. However, he said, he has never seen a coyote with a bear. “I am an old scientist, but this kind of thing never ceases to be delicious,” explains Strauss. “We might think that we have understood everything, but the beauty of science is that you have to prepare to be surprised.”
Observation of the pair can help scientists better understand how animals react to trauma, such as the late Eaton which destroyed houses and wildlife habitat. “In the same way that fire is traumatic for humans, fire is traumatic for social animals,” explains Strauss. “Many of these social animals, such as coyotes, have probably lost their partners or have lost their offspring and are, to some extent, still in shock. Most social animals are able to experience all the emotions that humans make. They don’t necessarily show it in the same way, but I think it creates a link between us.
In Altadena, where bear wall paintings have already sprinkled local stores before the fire, this type of connection can be very special. Greg Mann, who has lived in Altadena for about 30 years and who posted his bear observations On the local page of Reddit, says that when he returned home in the district of Canyon Crest earlier this spring, the region felt deserted, not only by people but also by animals.
“Everything was so silent. There were not many people in return and it was black of the night, ”he says. “We saw no sign of fauna and [my wife and I] were really worried because the fire had traveled so quickly, so we just didn’t know how all the animals behaved. But then, we started to put deer again in our courtyard again and other animals, and each time a new animal passes, it seems so full of hope. Little by little, it feels like things are starting to come back to the way they should be. »»
