Does anyone have any concrete (biologist) info on whether the bears in SoCal hibernate or not? ###I've heard that they don't since it stays so [relatively] warm. ###Sometimes they'll move to lower elevations or sometimes they just take a "long nap" for about 2-4 weeks but not the traditional hibernation that you find with most bears.
The reason for the question is that if the cold weather comes before the 1500 bears are taken in CA, is there any use going out and chasing one late in the year?
Songdog, as of 11/21/01 there were 1225 bear tags reported filled. Going by the past few years and the fact that last week there were 100 bear tags validated, I'd say we got 2 week max for bear hunting to go. You can hunt until you get the closure notice or you run into a warden who tells you it's over in the field.
I see bears all year in the San Bernardino and San Gabriel mountians. From what I've learned from the local biologists is the bears don't hibernate, they just move down to lower elevations. One biologist did say they found an occasional bear hibernating here in SoCal.
Does anyone know if bears come as far south as Iron Mountian (Poway area). ###I do not want to believe that the trail I was hiking was visitd by a bear. ###The scat I saw looked just like the picture on Jesse's bear link. ###The only thing I can
think of was a dog eating ###manzanita berries. ###Any suggestions?
I read an article in the California Game and Fish magazine that said bears have been located in the San Diego County area, I beleive it was Cleveland National Forest. They are going through drainages under the 10 freeway and other areas to gain access to Iydlwild areas also. So it most likely was bear track and scat you seen. The only thing is, they are not huntable legally south of the interstate 10 nor east of the hwy 62.
Technically, bears do not hibernate at all....anywhere in the world, regardless of temperature. ###They do engage in long periods of "sleep" but may awaken from time to time during the winter for a variety of reasons.
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