{"id":237536,"date":"2026-03-26T13:35:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/237536\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T13:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T13:35:13","slug":"backlash-after-officials-kill-socal-mama-bear-blondie-didnt-deserve-to-die","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/237536\/","title":{"rendered":"Backlash after officials kill SoCal mama bear: ‘Blondie didn\u2019t deserve to die!’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cBlondie\u201d the mama bear was a large and furry fixture in Monrovia known for her love of cooling off with a backyard-pool dip on a toasty day. But earlier this month, the local celebrity<\/a> was euthanized by the state, over the objections of local elected leaders, following two incidents where she swiped at residents. <\/p>\n

Now her two cubs, believed to be 2 to 3 months old, will spend the rest of their childhood in captivity in the hopes that they can one day be released back into the wild.<\/p>\n

Thousands of community members signed a petition<\/a> to try to prevent her euthanasia, and over the weekend, more than 100 residents gathered for a memorial walk through Monrovia. They traveled two miles \u2014 one for each of her orphaned cubs \u2014 in the shape of a B for Blondie. <\/p>\n

\"Two <\/p>\n

Blondie\u2019s two cubs, believed to be around 2 to 3 months old, will remain in captivity with the hope of releasing them when they\u2019re older.<\/p>\n

(San Diego Humane Society)<\/p>\n

They carried photos of Blondie\u2019s face and signs with messages such as \u201cBlondie didn\u2019t deserve to die!\u201d \u201cLove your neighbear\u201d and \u201cCubs spend their first year playing, exploring, nursing, napping and learning from mama bear. Now what?\u201d<\/p>\n

The backlash over the killing has roiled Monrovia and other foothill communities in the Angeles National Forest, where bear sightings are a part of life and even seen by some as one of the perks of living on the wildlife interface. Videos regularly go viral of bears swimming in pools, building meals from trash-can contents and occasionally getting into it with dogs. Although there is acknowledgment of the potential danger of bears, the hillside cul-de-sac culture is largely one of cordial coexistence.<\/p>\n

But the recent death of Blondie has exposed how fragile this peace can be.<\/p>\n

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife captured Blondie on March 15 after DNA testing linked the bear to two incidents where Monrovia residents were swiped at and sustained minor injuries, according to Monrovia City Manager Dylan Feik. The first incident took place in June 2025 when Blondie approached an elderly man sitting on his porch, and the second occurred on March 14<\/a> while a woman was walking her dog.<\/p>\n

Monrovia leaders advocated for relocating Blondie and her cubs to the Angeles National Forest following the latest incident, but by the time they got a response from Fish and Wildlife, the decision to euthanize was already made, according to Feik. <\/p>\n

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Share via Close extra sharing options <\/p>\n

\u201cThe city was not a part of that conversation or decision,\u201d said Monrovia Mayor Becky Shevlin. \u201cWe were absolutely devastated, especially when you think about her having the two little cubs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blondie\u2019s two male cubs are now living at San Diego Humane Society\u2019s Ramona Wildlife Center, where they will be raised with the goal of \u201cgiving them the best possible chance to return to the wild,\u201d according to the center<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Assemblymember John Harabedian (D-Pasadena) described Blondie\u2019s death as a \u201cheartbreaking and frustrating outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was no communication with state or local leaders, including me, about why this occurred, was this necessary and were there other ways that we could have approached it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The euthanasia decision highlights a growing tension as suburban sprawl in foothill areas and environmental threats such as climate change and wildfires push bruin and human<\/a> into greater contact. There was a noticeable uptick in human-bear conflict in 2022 when a severe statewide drought likely pushed black bears toward human food sources and another increase in Southern California last year probably due to habitat disruption from the Eaton fire, a Fish and Wildlife spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n

State wildlife officials said in a statement last week that the decision to euthanize is a last resort, but noted that anytime there is human-wildlife conflict the department\u2019s priority is protecting human life. Based on the department\u2019s black bear policy,<\/a> Blondie was designated a \u201cPublic Safety Bear,\u201d meaning she posed a threat to public safety and could not be safely returned to the wild. <\/p>\n

She is the first California black bear to be euthanized in 2026. There were two bears euthanized in 2025, three bears in 2024 and five\u202f bears in 2023, according to Fish and Wildlife. One of the bears euthanized last year was a sow in Sierra Madre<\/a> who had been linked to multiple home break-ins in the months following the Eaton fire. <\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A community walk is held in Monrovia on Saturday in solidarity with Blondie following the bear\u2019s killing by state officials.<\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

When it came to Blondie, officials said they conducted a \u201cthorough assessment of the bear\u2019s behavior and circumstances surrounding the incident.\u201d City leaders said the decision felt rushed and that the local community deserved to have a seat at the table. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe definitely care about humanity and care about the woman who might have been hurt or harmed as a result,\u201d said Monrovia City Councilmember Tamala Kelly. \u201cWe just don\u2019t know exactly what happened, and we wanted to be a part of the [decision-making] process.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Fish and Wildlife Department said that relocation was not a feasible option for Blondie. <\/p>\n

\u201cBears have strong spatial memory and often return to familiar areas,\u201d the department said in a statement. \u201cWhen translocated long distances, they recreate the same conflict behavior or struggle to survive in unfamiliar habitat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The department also defended the decision to separate the cubs from the mother, noting that the level of comfort the mother bear had attained in human territory was a bad example for her offspring. <\/p>\n

\u201cMother bears teach their cubs how to survive by modeling behavior,\u201d the department stated. \u201cWhen that behavior includes accessing human food sources or shelter, cubs can learn to associate people and homes with resources.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Community <\/p>\n

Pro-bear signage was part of the weekend walk honoring Blondie. In Southern California foothill communities, the culture is mostly one of coexistence with bears.<\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

The department emphasized the important role humans have to play in keeping bears wild by taking steps such as securing crawl spaces to ensure the animals don\u2019t shelter under their homes and removing removing food attractants such as unsecured trash or pet food.<\/p>\n

Community advocates concur that better bear education is essential. <\/p>\n

Local resident Brian Gordon, who started the petition to save Blondie, is frequently preaching principles of \u201cco-thriving\u201d and reminding locals and visitors alike to remove all outdoor food sources and give bears as wide a berth as possible. <\/p>\n

Gordon and his partner, Rick Martinez, run the Poolbearlife Instagram<\/a> account dedicated to documenting the antics of local Monrovia bears like Blondie. But, in addition to boosting education efforts for those living near bears, Gordon believes there is room for Fish and Wildlife to improve its own policies. <\/p>\n

Following Blondie\u2019s death, he changed the petition into a call to honor the mama bear with meaningful reform. <\/p>\n

The petition is now asking state officials for a full investigation to be carried out prior to a euthanasia decision, including witness statements and complete incident context such as whether the bear\u2019s actions were defensive rather than aggressive. <\/p>\n

The details surrounding the two incidents in which Blondie hurt local residents remain murky, Gordon said, and he is eager to learn more about what factors led to the behavior. <\/p>\n

In a statement to The Times, a Fish and Wildlife spokesperson said that the attacks were not related to Blondie defending her cubs, as she did not have cubs at the time of the June 2025 incident and her cubs were not with her during the latest incident. <\/p>\n

\u201cBased on observed behavior, the bear was likely food-conditioned and habituated to living near humans over time,\u201d the spokesperson said Tuesday. <\/p>\n

The updated petition also calls for increased transparency in how euthanasia decisions are made and communicated as well as earlier intervention following initial incidents.<\/p>\n

\"People <\/p>\n

Monrovia community members walk for Blondie the bear. A local petition is now asking for a full investigation to be made before a bear is euthanized.<\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

Assemblymember Harabedian agrees that more preventive action is a big piece of the puzzle. In the last legislative cycle, he introduced Assembly Bill 1024<\/a>, which called for managing potentially troublesome bears in the San Gabriel Valley through expanded GPS tracking, inspired by the state\u2019s successful Tahoe Basin model of bear management<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The bill, which came with an estimated price tag of $3.7 million its first year and $2.9 million a year after that, failed to pass the Assembly Appropriations Committee. In addition to GPS monitoring of local bears, the bill would have increased funding to educate the public on how to be better bear neighbors. <\/p>\n

\u201cFrankly, it\u2019s really frustrating that the bill didn\u2019t make it,\u201d said Harabedian, \u201cbecause I think it could have helped prevent outcomes like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both Harabedian and Gordon expressed concern over how the initial Blondie swiping incident was handled in June, which \u2014 unlike the March 14 incident \u2014 was not publicized. <\/p>\n

\u201cShould we the public have received that information [about the initial attack]?\u201d Gordon pondered. \u201cCould that have helped capture her at that time? Could we have done stuff differently that would have been proactive rather than reactive?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think good government should always be proactive, forward-looking and thoughtful, and what we saw with Blondie was the exact opposite,\u201d said Harabedian. \u201cIt\u2019s frustrating because it was preventable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

The orphaned cubs are being cared for at the San Diego Humane Society\u2019s Ramona Wildlife Center.<\/p>\n

(San Diego Humane Society)<\/p>\n