They could have tranquilized the bear but a lot of cops would rather just kill something as long as it isn't human and they don't have to fill out a mile of forms. Go hunting with Cheney some day. THAT should be interesting.
The local police here do not shoot bears. The Environmental Police are tasked with that, and it was their assessment the bear was a public danger.
They can't relocate the bear because it was female. Apparently females have stronger homing instincts than males (only the females are radio-collared locally for research so they know the travel patterns of the animals; there are five with home ranges overlapping my fair hometown).
SMH
Locally they would get some very bad press if they didn't tag the bear and find out if it had young to feed. If a few days passed and the bear still hadn't returned to a den to feed her young then it would have been tranquilized and re-located. In California it becomes a really public story in a hurry unlike some other states. I have heard of tranq'd bears being given a 200 mile helicopter ride to a state park or other remote location, making for a 'feel good' story. Bill Baka
Possums are indeed frequent roadkill in Irvine, CA. Dumb as H. If they're so blind, why hasn't nature given them good hearing or other senses? They seem to stay off the bike paths.
My community also has a bobcat living apparently under one house. It's keeping the rabbit and possum population down.
Dave
Specialized said:
Werehatrack said:
Possums, being as bright as unlit charcoal briquets, blithely saunter out into traffic without care.
They are so nearsighted they might as well be blind as well.
