Ojai Wildlife League

CDFG- Black bear and human interactions policy, 2010

Consistent with sections 1801, 4181 and 4181.1 of the Fish and Game Code, the
purpose of this black bear policy is to minimize bear/human conflicts and damage
to private property while not significantly affecting California’s bear population.
This policy addresses situations where bears have entered residential areas and
the Department must respond.
The Department considers improper storage of human food and garbage to be
the primary cause of bear conflicts with humans. The reduction or elimination of
bear attractants is emphasized throughout this policy and in the “Keep Me Wild”
Program so that bears do not become habituated to human food and become
problem bears in the future. This policy is intended to reduce the number of
bear/human conflicts to the benefit of individual bears and people living near, or
recreating in, bear habitat.
Bears that are threats to public safety, as determined by a public safety officer or
Department employee, may be killed at any time without a permit. The specific
procedures for handling public safety bears are detailed in the Department’s
Public Safety Wildlife Policy. “Region” refers to one of seven Department regions
and “District” refers to one of four Department Law Enforcement Division (LED)
districts.
The policy is organized into five elements described in detail below:
I. Incident Response
A. Department regional or district personnel will attempt to respond to all
bear incidents, either by phone or in person. The type and level of
response should be consistent with the reported incident. The Department
employee or volunteer receiving the report of a bear incident is
responsible for ensuring that the incident is reported to an appropriate
supervisor or manager. Other than sworn officers, only those Department
personnel who have current certification in the Wildlife Investigations Lab
(WIL) Wildlife Restraint Course may respond onsite to a bear incident
unless specifically directed to do so by their chain-of-command or the onsite
Department incident commander. The incident commander’s
directives will be followed by all on-site employees.
B. The responding Department employee, under the authority of their
Regional Manager or Chief of Enforcement, or his/her designee, will verify
the validity of the complaint, determine the appropriate action, and if
necessary, start control measures and/or issue a depredation permit
pursuant to Section 401, Title 14, CCR.
C. Incident documentation will be completed by the region or district when
on-scene response to a bear call is necessary. This may include bear
incident reports, depredation permits and follow-up or recurrence reports.
Copies of this documentation shall be sent through the chain-of-command
to region and Wildlife Branch (WLB).
D. Under the conditions described in sections 4181 and/or 4181.1 of the Fish
and Game Code, black bears that have damaged private property may be
killed by the property owner or an agent. A depredation permit is not to be
issued to kill a bear that is designated a public safety bear.
E. The procedures for disposing of a bear taken under a depredation permit
will be described in the permit prior to killing the bear. A Department
employee will be responsible for disposal of, or to verify disposal of, such
bear.
F. Bears that stray into areas where human/bear conflicts are anticipated,
and are not habituated to humans may at the Department’s discretion, be
captured and moved to the nearest suitable habitat in a safe and
expedient manner.
G. Bears that are determined to be habituated to humans are not candidates
for moving. If such bears do not return to the wild on their own, the
Department may attempt to capture the bear so that it may either be
humanely euthanized or placed with a permitted animal care facility. A
decision to capture a bear shall be made by the onsite field staff after
consultation with the chain-of-command and with the WIL.
II. Response Categories and Remedial Actions
Following are the Department’s three categories with examples, for responding to
reported bear problems:
Category 1 – (“No Harm- No Foul bear”) A non-habituated bear has strayed into
a populated area and does not return to bear habitat. In most situations, removal
of the attractants from the area will cause the bear to return to wild habitat and
only phone contact with the reporting party will be necessary. Site response is
only necessary in cases where a bear does not leave, or if other knowledge
indicates that either the safety of the bear or the public is compromised.
Techniques to cause (haze) the bear to leave may include, but are not limited to
the use of non-lethal projectiles (e.g. rubber slug shot shells or sling shot
projectiles) to drive the bear away and/or “bear” dogs to chase and haze the bear
out of the area. Unless otherwise specified by a supervisor, a Department
employee shall accompany any persons using dogs to chase or haze bears.
Tranquilizing and removing the bear can be used if other methods are
determined to be unsafe or have been unsuccessful.
Category 2 – (Habituated bear) A bear has become habituated to humans and
may be a nuisance problem (no property damage involved) by tipping over
garbage cans, invading compost piles, walking across porches, etc. Bears that
have been previously captured and removed, but return to areas of human
habitation are included in this category. The responder should continue to
recommend reasonable corrective measures as a long-term solution to the
problem. Reasonable corrective measures include, but are not limited to area
clean-up, removal of trash or other food attractants, bear-proofing food storage
areas, electric fencing, temporary closure of campsites, and/or the techniques
listed in Category 1 above. Habituated bears are not candidates for moving and
shall either be humanely euthanized or placed with a permitted animal care
facility upon failure of the corrective measures.
Category 3 – (Depredation bear) A bear has caused real property damage to
dwellings, structures, vehicles, apiaries, other man-made objects. If the damage
is minor and there are no other previous reports of damage, the implementation
of reasonable corrective measures to remove the attractants as outlined for
Category 2 bears should be followed. If the situation worsens or damage is
considered substantial in the opinion of the responder, corrective measures shall
be made prior to, or in addition to, issuing a depredation permit pursuant to Fish
and Game Code Section 4181. In cases where a bear has caused extensive
and/or chronic damage to private property, such as injured or killed livestock,
entered into an unoccupied home or cabin, or repeated damage where corrective
or bear-proofing efforts have failed, the Department shall issue a depredation
permit, if the property owner requests one. If the property owner does not want a
depredation permit, the Department shall continue to advise on measures which
need to be taken to prevent further property damage.
As provided for in Section 4181.1 of the Fish and Game Code, landowners or
their employees may kill a bear encountered in the act of molesting or injuring
livestock as long as this taking is reported to the Department by the next working
day. The carcass must be made available to the Department. After investigation,
an after-the-fact depredation permit can be issued.
III. Relocation, Removal, Trapping or Hazing of Bears
Relocation in this policy is defined as the capture and release of a bear at
least 20 air miles from the capture site. Category 1 bears may also be
returned to their immediate habitat, which may be less than 20 miles.
A. Trapping and relocating black bears is an option in unusual situations.
Black bears shall only be relocated with the prior approval of the Wildlife
Branch Chief or his/her designee.
B. Only Department personnel are authorized to capture and relocate black
bears. Personnel from federal, State and/or local agencies, nongovernment
organizations, or the public may not capture and relocate
bears unless specific authorization for relocating black bears is contained
in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Director of the
Department and the appropriate agency or entity. Any such MOU shall
include directions for coordination of all trapping efforts on an incident-byincident
basis.
C. All relocated bears that are chemically immobilized shall be ear tagged in
accordance with Section 4190 of the Fish and Game Code. Any bear
needing to be chemically immobilized shall be handled in accordance with
the WIL’s “Administering Pharmaceuticals to Wildlife” instructions. Special
procedures for handling and tagging bears within 14 days prior to or
during any bear hunting season are included in those instructions and
shall be adhered to prior to the release of any bear during this timeframe.
Captured bears being returned to their immediate habitat or bears that are
relocated should be tagged when possible. If tagging equipment is not
available and immediate release or relocation is necessary, the bear
should be marked in some manner for future identification. Any tags
recovered from bears taken under permit, or otherwise taken, shall be
forwarded to WLB with any permits or other written documentation on the
animal.
D. Prior to trapping a black bear for relocation purposes, a release site shall
be approved by the regional manager or his/her designee. Release sites
may be predesignated by the regional manager. The appropriate land
management agency shall be notified of the release site(s) and the date
and time of bear release(s). No bear shall be transported out of the State
without the authorization of the Wildlife Branch Chief or his/her designee.
IV. Orphaned and Injured Bears
A. On occasion, black bear cubs may be found orphaned or have been
picked up and perceived orphaned. If, in the judgment of the responding
Department employee, the cub(s) appear independent they should be left
alone or hazed/moved back to natural habitat.
B. Except as provided for category 1, 2 and 3 situations listed above, bears
should never be handled. In the case of injured bears, responding
personnel should assess injuries and euthanize any bear with injuries that
would prevent it from surviving in the wild.
V. Orphaned Black Bear Cub Rehabilitation and Permanent Placement
The following will inform Department personnel in implementing the policy as it
relates to rehabilitation of orphaned cubs to be released into the wild or
placement in a facility.
If at all possible, bear cubs should be allowed to return to the wild on their own or
through hazing before a decision to capture them is made. Department personnel
shall use the decision tree (Figure 1), to guide onsite actions for bear cubs. Cubs
may be eligible for rehabilitation and release into the wild only if provisions have
been made for the capture, transportation, care, and release of the animal before
the cub is placed in captivity. Provisions are to include method of transport,
timing of release, and financial resources for the capture, care and release of the
animal, including Department costs. Approval from the Wildlife Investigations Lab
supervisor (or his/her designee) is required prior to allowing an animal care
facility to possess and/or rehabilitate a bear. For the purposes of this policy, a
cub is defined as a bear weighing less than 50 pounds.
Selection Criteria – Cubs of the year may be candidates for rehabilitation if the
following conditions are met:
1. There is agreement among Department personnel in the region or district,
the statewide bear coordinator, and the Wildlife Investigations Lab (WIL)
supervisor (or their designees) that a given cub is suitable for
rehabilitation. If agreement is not reached, the decision about whether a
cub is suitable for rehabilitation will be made by the WIL supervisor.
2. Orphaned cubs encountered before August 1, or obviously dependent on
the sow if after August 1.
3. Orphaned cubs that have had little or no contact with humans and are not
imprinted on humans or reliant on humans for food.
Procedure -
4. Orphaned cubs that are candidates for rehabilitation will be transported in
a secure container as quickly as possible to the rehabilitation facility where
they will be held in secure confinement. Cubs will be kept in a quiet place
with little or no human contact. The cub(s) will be given adequate food and
water. All rehabilitation bear cubs shall be ear-tagged by the rehabilitating
facility prior to transportation for release into the wild. Marking of bear
cubs is required by Section 4190 of the Fish and Game Code.
5. Release of rehabilitated cub(s) requires placing the animal(s) in natural or
artificially constructed dens during the most appropriate time of late fall or
winter. Den sites should not be disturbed after the cub(s) is placed in the
den. Rehabilitated cubs should be released in suitable habitat (near snow
line is preferred) within 75 miles of the site where they were originally
captured. The release site shall be coordinated with the land management
agency or landowner. The release of a rehabilitated cub shall be
supervised by Department personnel who should be prepared to address
questions from the news media. Den sites should not be disturbed after
the cub(s) is placed in the den.
6. Cubs that do not meet the criteria for rehabilitation will be permanently
placed with a permitted facility after considering the welfare of the bear
cub, the benefits to the public of the State of California, and the availability
of Department-permitted facilities willing to accept a cub. Temporary
holding facilities may be authorized to care for the cub until placement is
determined. Placement of bear cubs for rehabilitation and for permanent
placement will be the responsibility of the Department’s Wildlife
Rehabilitation Coordinator and under the direction of the Wildlife
Investigation Lab supervisor, or designee.
7. The selection of a facility (whether for rehabilitation or for placement) will
give priority to the nearest facility to the area that the cub is from, provided
that facility is prepared to take the cub; or, in order, the next closest facility
that is willing to take the animal until placement is made.

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