[pct-l] re: Bears in the Lagunas

["John Driver" <dnohj@hotmail.com>]

>A bear was shot and killed 9 miles east of Ramona CA,

Well, there were bears in the Lagunas :(

When I used to live in San Diego I remember the papers describing two or 
three mountain lion/people encounters a year, usually in small communities 
like Ramona or Alpine.  Cougar haven't been affected by people as much I 
guess; mixed chapparal / oak must be more to their liking.

I read a great book about a year back, title escapes me something like 
"Early Accounts of California" - being just what it sounds like, a 
collection of the writings of early Spanish explorers describing what they 
encountered here..  quite eye opening as the Central Valley was equated to 
the African Serengeti as far as the variety and abundance of wildlife goes.  
Jaguars were common as far north as San Francisco.  It's kind of depressing 
to see all that replaced by laser-leveled fields.  Around where I live now 
(Chico, about 60 miles N of Sacramento) it's hard to find untouched land, 
and usually it's relegated to private hunting clubs.

     Another eye opening book is "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose; 
it's basically the journals of Lewis and Clark with comments and history 
from the author.  One passage particularly struck me, that at any time there 
were so many deer, bears, birds, etc in view that Lewis would lose count at 
around 600.  Other highlights include the first documented encounter with a 
grizzly bear and John Colter's decision to leave the expedition on the 
return leg to explore Yellowstone.  Good reading!
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