Encounter with bear at East Mountains home

[Bayard]

3. Happening to the mountain lions...

When I lived down the road from Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, the mountain lions were coming down to the lower levels to find food. Too much upheaval in their environments. It was usually the young stupid ones, or the old guys that couldn't chase anything down anymore. They'd nab the occasional sheep or goat. Local people loved to show their photos of ones they'd shot.

One time I was driving down the mountain on 180, and got behind a pickup that had a dead bear cub hanging out the back of the bed to finish draining the blood. They left a big sad trail, and it made me physically sick. I called the local ranger's office and was told, nothing we can do, it's legal to hunt bears here.