The Altadenans are not oblivious to animals of animals: there are real turkeys and parrots in abundance in the city, but the news of a coyote and a black bear that passes through the city together recently has spoken to the locals.
First introduced to the public through A clip posted on social networks According to the Altadena Sheriff Station, the duo has been seen together several times, eating garbage and patrolling the streets of the foothills left mainly desolate by the Eaton fire in January.
While seeing a bear or coyote is not abnormal in Altadena, observing them together is surprising, says the deputy of the Sheriff of the County of the, Andrew Garza, whose partner took the video of the improbable couple when they responded to a call on the bear at the end of June. “They were just walking and hanging out together, which was really interesting,” he says. “I think that due to the fires, both animals have lost their natural habitat, so they are here looking for water and food, but seeing them together painted this image of them only two friends, trying to get along and review the neighborhood.”
The Altadena resident, Raimy Rosenduft, says that the couple captured a week later in the entrance door (experts believe it is the same couple). In its clip, the bear and the coyote apparently enjoy the loot of a spilled garbage can, surveying the neighborhood while weighing their next movement.
While wildlife experts say it is understandable that viewers can see the clips and think “look at this pair of best and furry,” they rush to note that what is happening between the two species seems to indicate more tolerance than affection.
“You can humanize your dog or your cat, but I think that is even a stretch,” he says Steve SearlesAn expert in wildlife and author that Animal Planet once called “the bear whisper.” “To think that these animals love you or others in the way they love them is not based on reality or fact. I do not want to burst anyone's bubble, but it is that kind of thought that makes someone, be it a person or is more likely an animal, killed.”
There is a less sentimental explanation for the team, says Searles. When he worked as a wildlife officer in Gigantic Lagos in the 1990s, Searles says he often saw the coyotes sleeping out of bear denies. (The coyotes have also been seen together Bears in bubankalthough in seemingly less friendly circumstances, among other places). “It was as if they were waiting for the bear to wake up and go to work, because it was cheaper for them to travel with the bear during their night route,” explains Searles. While bears are typically seen as predators of the apex, he says, black bears, Only wild bears Left in California, they are actually vegetarian omnivores, eating much more grass, tubers, roots and berries than meat. The coyotes, on the other hand, are opportunistic dining rooms, eating in what crosses with their paths. After a bear, which will demolish a garbage can to lick a bottle of peanut butter, but can ignore chicken bones, it could be a victory for the smallest animal.
Unless a black bear has puppies or is looking to mate, says Searles, they will not really pay the coyote much. “Everyone is used to watching the Grizzlies on television catching salmon from the air 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 their grass, eat grass or margaritas or other species of non -indigenous plants. It's simply easier. They don't want to run for anything if they can help you.”
Bear ecologist Chris Morgan He says that, although he would not use the word “lazy” to describe black bears, he would call them absolutely efficient. “Like all bears, they are out for the greatest amount of calories for the least amount of effort.”
Even if the pairing is less “movie animals” and more biological imperative, that does not mean that experienced wildlife observers have not found something interesting in the images.
Eric Strauss, the executive director of the Loyola Marymount Center for Urban ResilienceHe says his group has studied Coyotes in urban environments widely. Still, he says, he has never seen a coyote with a bear. “I am an old scientist, but this kind of thing never ceases to be lovely,” says Strauss. “We might think that we have everything resolved, but the beauty of science is that you should prepare to surprise you.”
Observing the couple can help scientists understand more how animals respond to trauma, such as Eaton's fire that destroyed both house habitat and wildlife. “In the same way that fire is traumatic for humans, fire is traumatic for social animals,” says Strauss. “Many of these social animals, such as coyotes, probably lost their partners or lost their descendants and, to some extent, are still in shock. Most social animals can experience all emotions that humans do.
In Altadena, where Bear's murals already splashed local stores before the fire, that type of connection can feel very special. Greg Mann, who has lived in Altadena for about 30 years and who Published his bears sightings On the local Reddit page, he says that when he returned home in the neighborhood of Canyon Crest at the beginning of this spring, the area felt deserted, not only for people but also for animals.
“Everything was so silent. There were not many people back and it was black at night,” he says. “We were not seeing any wild life sign and [my wife and I] They were really worried because the fire had traveled so fast, so we were not sure how they had gone to all the animals. But then we begin to put deer in our patio again and in other animals, and every time a new animal appears, it feels so hopeful. Little by little, it seems that things are starting to be as they should be. ”
