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While seeing a bear or coyote isn\u2019t abnormal in Altadena, observing them together is surprising, says L.A. County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Andrew Garza, whose partner took the video of the unlikely pair when they responded to a call about the bear in late June. \u201cThey were kind of just walking and hanging out together, which was really interesting,\u201d he says. \u201cI think that because of the fires, both animals have lost their natural habitat so they\u2019re down here looking for water and food, but seeing them together painted this picture of them being just two friends, trying to get along and checking out the neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
Altadena resident Raimy Rosenduft says she captured the pair a week or so later on her front door camera (experts believe it\u2019s the same couple). In her clip, the bear and the coyote are seemingly enjoying the spoils of a spilled garbage can, surveying the neighborhood while they weigh their next move.<\/p>\n
While wildlife experts say it\u2019s understandable that viewers may see the clips and think \u201ccheck out this pair of cute, furry best friends,\u201d they\u2019re quick to note that what\u2019s going on between the two species seems to indicate more toleration than affection.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou can humanize your dog or your cat, but I think even that\u2019s a stretch,\u201d says Steve Searles<\/a>, a wildlife expert and author who Animal Planet once dubbed \u201cThe Bear Whisperer.\u201d \u201cThinking that these animals love you or each other the way that you love them just isn\u2019t based on reality or fact. I don\u2019t want to burst anyone\u2019s bubble, but it\u2019s that kind of thinking that gets someone \u2014 either a person or more likely an animal \u2014 killed.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s a less sentimental explanation for the team-up, Searles says. Back when he was working as a wildlife officer in Mammoth Lakes in the 1990s, Searles says he often saw coyotes sleeping outside bear dens. (Coyotes have also been spotted alongside bears in Burbank<\/a>, although in seemingly less friendly circumstances, among other places.) \u201cIt was like they were just waiting for the bear to wake up and go to work, because it was more economical for them to travel with the bear during its nightly route,\u201d Searles explains. While bears are typically seen as apex predators, he says, black bears \u2014 the only wild bears<\/a> left in California \u2014 are actually vegetarian-leaning omnivores, eating far more grass, tubers, roots and berries than meat. Coyotes, on the other hand, are opportunistic eaters, chowing down on whatever crosses their paths. Following a bear, who\u2019ll knock over a garbage can to lick out a discarded jar of peanut butter but may ignore chicken bones, could be a win for the smaller animal.<\/p>\n Unless a black bear has cubs with it or is looking to mate, Searles says, they won\u2019t really pay the coyote much mind. \u201cEverybody\u2019s used to seeing grizzlies on TV catching salmon out of the air at the top of some waterfall, but black bears are one of the laziest animals on the planet,\u201d he explains. \u201cThey just want to walk around on your lawn, eating grass or daisies or other non-indigenous species of plants. It\u2019s just plain easier. They don\u2019t want to run for anything if they can help it.\u201d <\/p>\n Bear ecologist Chris Morgan<\/a> says that, while he wouldn\u2019t use the word \u201clazy\u201d to describe black bears, he would absolutely call them efficient. \u201cLike all bears, they\u2019re out for the biggest number of calories for the least amount of effort.\u201d<\/p>\n Even if the pairing is less \u201cbuddy animal movie\u201d and more biological imperative, that doesn\u2019t mean seasoned wildlife observers haven\u2019t found something interesting in the footage.<\/p>\n Eric Strauss, the executive director of the Loyola Marymount Center for Urban Resilience<\/a>, says his group has studied coyotes in urban environments extensively. Still, he says, he\u2019s never seen a coyote with a bear. \u201cI\u2019m an old scientist, but still this kind of stuff never stops being delightful,\u201d Strauss says. \u201cWe might think we have everything figured out, but the beauty of science is that you have to prepare to be surprised.\u201d<\/p>\n Observing the pair may help scientists understand more about how animals respond to trauma, like the Eaton fire that destroyed both homes and wildlife habitat. \u201cIn the same way that fire is traumatic to humans, fire is traumatic to social animals,\u201d Strauss says. \u201cA lot of these social animals, like coyotes, probably lost their partners or lost their offspring and are, to some degree, still in shock. Most social animals are able to experience all the emotions that humans do. They don\u2019t necessarily show it the same way, but I think knowing that creates a bond between us. These animals might still be wild, but, really, we\u2019re not as different as we would like to think we are.\u201d<\/p>\n In Altadena, where bear murals already dotted local stores before the fire, that sort of connection can feel extra special. Greg Mann, who\u2019s lived in Altadena for about 30 years and who\u2019s posted his bear sightings<\/a> on the local Reddit page, says when he returned to his home in the Canyon Crest neighborhood earlier this spring, the area felt deserted, not just by people but by animals as well.<\/p>\n \u201cEverything was so silent. There weren\u2019t a lot of people back and it was pitch black at nighttime,\u201d he says. \u201cWe weren\u2019t seeing any signs of wildlife and [my wife and I] were really concerned because the fire had traveled so quickly so we just weren\u2019t sure how all the animals had fared. But then we started getting deer in our yard again and other animals, and every single time a new animal comes through, it just feels so hopeful. Little by little, it feels like things are starting to get back to the way they should be.\u201d<\/p>\n