The Man Who Drove Bears from Yosemite to LA

For residents of Southern California’s foothill communities, encountering black bears has become a familiar, if unexpected, part of life. Near the San Gabriel Mountains, these suburbs, stretching along the 210 freeway, often find themselves sharing space with these wild visitors. The sight of a bear in a backyard, rummaging through dumpsters, or even lounging in a neighborhood pool, is not an uncommon occurrence. This frequent interaction between bears and humans, however, has deep historical roots.

The black bears of Southern California are not native to the region. They are the descendants of 28 bears transported from Yosemite nearly a century ago. In November 1933, six of these bears were released in the Big Bear Lake area, with others scattered across the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains. This relocation was orchestrated by J. Dale Gentry, then head of the California Fish and Game Commission. Gentry, a bear enthusiast with a penchant for hunting, envisioned these animals as a potential tourist attraction for the San Bernardino area, inspired by the bear-feeding shows he had seen in Yosemite.

While Gentry’s plan might have been well-intentioned, it didn’t account for the bears’ adaptability. Used to scavenging human food, these bears quickly began exploring beyond their new mountain homes, venturing into the small towns along the foothills. The local communities were unprepared for the sudden presence of these large, curious animals, leading to a mix of fascination and fear.

Over the decades, as urban development pushed further into the wildland-urban interface, encounters between humans and bears became more frequent. Today, the descendants of those original Yosemite bears are a common sight in the suburbs, particularly in places like Sierra Madre. The rise in bear sightings has prompted local authorities to take action, with initiatives ranging from public education to the introduction of bear-resistant trash cans.

Despite the challenges, Southern Californians have developed a unique relationship with these bears. The media continues to cover every bear sighting with the same excitement that greeted the first bears released in 1933.

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