A black bear has wandered its way through Yucca Valley and Joshua Tree and into Twentynine Palms, the first one spotted so far east in the Basin in years. It's believed to be a 2-year old from the Big Bear area, according to this account in the Desert Trail. State Fish and Game and the National Park are taking an observational stance for now, unless the bear starts to make a nuisance of itself.
And in other summer wildlife news, the Hi-Desert Star gives the low-down on how to handle the not-so-welcome visitor, the kissing bug.
UPDATE: The bear has been hanging out at the Twentynine Palms Inn and shows no signs of leaving the area. People have unfortunately started to feed it, pretty well guaranteeing its doom. According to Saturday's Star, "Morongo Basin sheriff’s Capt. Donnie Miller said Friday afternoon he was waiting for a game warden from Fish and Game to arrive Twentynine Palms to assess the situation." (06/28/2008)
UPDATE #2: The bear was "tranquilized, tagged and crated at 7:42 p.m. Wednesday by Jeff Villapique, a Fish and Game wildlife biologist based in Big Bear", and later released into the San Gorgonio Mountains. Read the story in The Desert Trail. (07/03/2008)
MORE INFO ON THIS TOPIC: On the Wildlife page of the MBCA Website, including referrals for issues with both wild and domestic animals.
