Letters to the Editor: Bears are not the problem. Humans who build houses in the mountains are

To the editor: I found the coverage of bears “invading” Pine Mountain Club disturbing. Proposals from residents failed to account for the multiple measures that can be taken to avoid having bears invade their home.

In fact, I interviewed Steve Searles, the “bear whisperer,” last October for a Times book review. Searles has a proven track record of teaching residents and tourists how to interact with black bears.

Resources are available to the residents of Pine Mountain Club, but they seem oblivious to the ways that, without changing their own behavior, the bears will continue to be a “problem.”

You build houses in mountain towns where bears are a fact of life, and you must learn to deal with those consequences. And those consequences are not the eradication of the bears, but a requirement that homeowners adapt and modify their own habits.

Lorraine Berry, Eugene, Ore.

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To the editor: The human-bear conflict in mountain towns is a natural result of our hubris in believing that nature, and all the nonhuman beings on the planet, exist for (and at) our pleasure.

We believe we have the right to control their numbers even as the human population continues to explode and we colonize formerly wild places.

Feeding these bears is an indulgence that places them and us at risk. We should be searching for solutions that allow all of us a place in the sun.

Deborah Elliott, Pacific Palisades

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To the editor: Never in human history has a tribe allowed bears to enter their camp and eat their food — not until modern times.

Bears have learned that people aren’t dangerous. If they’re smart enough to learn that, they’re smart enough to unlearn it.

Maybe firing beanbag rounds would give a bear something to remember without causing harm, and the bear would take a new fear back to the woods to share with his buddies. Pretty soon we’d see a new/old, more natural relationship develop between people and bears.

Steven Foster, Palms

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To the editor: This article paints a picture of ursine destruction and terror in the vacation town of Pine Mountain Club where, reportedly, there are calls for black bears’ “extermination.”

In reality, humans are more likely to be killed by bee stings or lightning than by a bear.

Bears are otherwise occupied helping maintain a healthy ecosystem by controlling other animal populations and fertilizing plants with their scat. So when reporting on these “scary,” “wild predators,” don’t forget the real threat to a safe environment: us.

Merete Rietveld, Los Angeles